KISS in the Dark
by HAWTgeek
Summary: As everyone returns KISS for a new year,two new students are flying in from JFK.Things have changed since Massie left New York,but she will always be part of the Pretty Committee.With Claire and Dylan with her for the next year, this should be the perfect time they expected.But things aren't as perfect as the brochures.Will Gossip Girl expose them if they steal a kiss in the dark?
1. Intro

_**KISS in the Dark**_

KISS has taught Britain's elite for decades, and now they house the elite of America, too. When Massie Block arrived, she took the school by storm, and now she has two members of the PC and some old friends transferring to the UK to join her. It's like a fairytale. Good friends, an amazing school, British hawties, and gorgeous scenery to do it all in. But nothing is ever as simple as that…

**Massie Block:**

Massie was only an eighth grader when she moved from Westchester, NY, to London, and things fell into place afterwards. She ruled the school by the end of her first semester, and she also found James Winthrop, her perfect guy with the perfect British accent. Now a tenth grader, things have changed since Massie first moved there. Her parents divorced, and her mother loved to Paris. While still Queen Bee, she lost her king of about two years along the way. But she is about to have her court when her old American friends, Claire and Dylan, move in with her for a year at the fine school of KISS. Will Massie be able to focus on her friends, or will they remind her too much of the changes in her life?

**Dylan Marvil:**

In one year, everything changed for Dylan. Her best friend moved to England, and she had a famous reality TV show before she was even in High School. Reaching their third season to shoot, Dylan has opted out of filming and the life of being America's Sweetheart for a year with her best friend in London. She is trying to find herself and see who Dylan is without all of the cameras, and she particularly wants to make the best of her time with her friends. But will she find what she is looking for, or will she find something she never expected?

**Claire Lyons:**

After losing her two of her best friends, Layne and Massie, to KISS years ago, Claire refused to let her longtime boyfriend, Cam, go, too. Instead, she convinced her parents to let her spend a year with Massie in London, taking a leap of faith to follow Cam. But all Cam ever talks about is how amazing KISS is and barely sees her anymore, and Claire begins to wonder if she has already lost him to KISS…


	2. Arriving in London

**Massie,**

"Oh, isn't this place so _dreary_? Darling, I know you would _jadore_ my new flat in Paris much more than this _ancient_ London place. Are you _sure_ you want to stay, Darling?" my mother looked at me, taking off her sunglasses as she looked up at the "old place" she was ragging on.

It _was_ old. But it had been preserved carefully. It was Tudor-style castle just outside of London, sitting on a beautiful estate. The price tag that came along with place was expensive, and our changes were even more. To own a place like this though, it was completely worth it.

Two years ago, when we moved to London, my mother had been the one to pick this place out. She wanted a "piece of history" and quickly picked this home. Here she held court like a queen, and she adored every minute as she went through that phase.

The phase only lasted a while, and it wasn't long before my mother spent more time in London flat than in the gorgeous country estate she made us buy. She took an interest in art and her art _dealer_. A year after we moved to the UK, my mom was buying an apartment in Paris and the papers were going through.

By the end of the year, we were now all in our lives now, though my mom still was still fighting the custody agreement.

Things had changed drastically, and I had to admit I wasn't completely used to it yet.

My parents split wasn't as bad because I came from a place where it was common, and I had seen it coming. I was never that close to my mom, so our time apart wasn't that hard. If anything, we were closer now that our time together meant shopping in Paris, stopping for coffee on our way to the Louvre, and actually enjoying things.

It did feel weird being at the mansion and not seeing my mom parading around in her tennis outfits or getting ready to redecorate. And it felt even weirder not to be packing up for summer with the girls in Westchester and getting on a train to spend my summer in my mom's place in Paris.

Now that I had handled the bad new "weirds", I was ready for the good stuff.

And there was a particularly new good thing waiting for me in the new year at KISS…

"Paris is so diverse," my mom wrapped her arm around my shoulder, "So beautiful, so _chic._ For God's sake, it is the birth place of _Chanel!_"

I smiled back at my mother, who barely resembled the Westchester house wife I knew her as.

Her brown blow-out was now cut jaw length and highlighted perfectly. Her face had been botoxed and lazered and all these other treatments promising to make her look younger. What little fat she had was taken out by the best surgeon her settlement could afford, and she was wearing an all-white business suit with a big diamond necklace her boyfriend, Jean Pierre, had given her.

She owned one of the most popular stores in Paris now, and she seemed happy with her new life.

"I'm happy here. Fresh air to breathe. Space to stretch out. Full-time English," I got my luggage out of the trunk of my mother's rental BMW.

Despite the fact that I was perfectly fine getting to Paris on my own, she had decided to come with me and even rent a car to drive me back to the castle.

"I will miss you so much, Massie," my mom nodded, opening the car door, "Tell your father I said hello."

"You don't want to tell him yourself?"

My parents had barely spoken since their divorce, and I hated having to be the means of communication between the two of them.

"Love to, but Jean and I have a date. I really must go, Massie," my mom kissed me on both cheeks, "Je t'aime, bébé."

"Love you, too, Mom," I watched my mother get in the car and begin to drive off.

When her BMW was out of sight, I turned back to the grand house.

Pulling my suitcase behind me, I started towards the front door, and I fished the keys out of my Prada tote.

When the door finally opened, I left my suitcase in the foyer, and I walked into the house.

"Dad? I'm home!"

I was about to set off and search the giant home when my father came into the great room.

"Massie! You're back early!"

My smile wide, I hurried to my father and hugged him tightly.

My father was a handsome man. He had dark brown eyes and dark brown hair, which was beginning to gray in the perfect way. He dressed in business casual always, and his skin was wrinkle free thanks to botox. He always smelled distinctly of Calvin Klein cologne, and women loved him.

I absolutely adored him.

In my parent's divorce, it had shocked everyone when I picked my dad, but they didn't understand how much I loved him. He let me relax. He let me have pizza when I needed a break, and he understood I was really human.

"Mom had to get to Jean's art show with that gallery he just opened, and I saw there was an earlier train. So I switched our tickets. That doesn't mess things up, does it?"

"No, of course not. I'm happy you're home. I just wanted them to be here first," my father pushed my hair behind my ear.

"So they're really coming?"

It had been four months since my father sat me down and told me, but it still didn't feel real. I couldn't believe it. It was really happening!

"They are both on the plane as we speak, Mass."

I couldn't help it, I wrapped my father up in another hug.

My best friends, here with me again.

I had managed in London without them, and my parents knew that. I only got to see my four best friends on Skype and on school holidays. When I found out my summer was going to be spent with my mom instead of my friends, I was crushed.

Right as I was beginning to shop for the summer, I got the best gift ever.

Two tickets from the US to London and two new students to KISS.

"I am going to get settled in. Love you, Dad," I kissed my father's cheek, and I quickly raced off to the grand staircase that took me to my wing of the house.

**Dylan,**

"_America fell in love with Dylan Marvil as we watched her struggle through her self-confidence and self-image. We watched her grow up together, and now it's Britian's turn!"_ a perky woman smiled on the screen, happy with her life on the Gossip TV show that was secretly watched by millions, even me.

When my mom got her own talk show, my life changed drastically. My parents got a divorce. My mother was always working, and I found the Pretty Committee.

And, two years ago, when my mom got a reality TV show, things changed again. I had cameras always on me. My best friend, Massie, moved to London. And things changed for the Pretty Committee.

Kristen's mother remarried a plastic surgeon and no longer was "poor" as she had complained about for years. But, before she could settle in to her new life, a job offer in Miami and a soccer offer there, too, got her packing to go down South.

Alicia latched on to my fame, took the right chance, and scored the third season of Alpha Island, which is currently filming. So far, she is a fan favorite.

And Claire made a big bargain to run off and follow Cam to his boarding school in London.

I was along for the journey for two of my best friends.

But my story was a little different.

My parents didn't force me there, and I wasn't off on a romantic whim.

I didn't have a reason, and that was it.

Kristen had soccer, and Alicia had Alpha Island. Massie had KISS and her PR classes, and Claire had Cam. And I wasn't sure what I had.

I had fame I didn't earn. I had designer closets I didn't have to pay for because of who my mother was. I had boyfriends though I felt like they were latching on to my fame or just a total jerk if they were already famous.

Jamie had her acting, though she wasn't actually good at it.

Ryan was modeling.

And I wasn't sure what I wanted to do…

"Pity, by the time you're done with your little break, they'll be over you."

My eyes shot over to my mother's assistant, Anna, who had gotten on the plane with me for the next stop in Madrid.

Anna had been against me going to London, and she made that very clear.

She was the manager of our fame. She made sure that we never tarnished our reputation, and she took credit for making me a hit. Anna said she saw promise in me and thought, if I had to be away, I should be in LA or Manhattan, not across the pond.

"Which means you can give it to Jamie, who really wants it," I crossed my arms as I stood in the plane and made my way to get a drink.

"You don't understand, Dylan. You have it. You're innocent and devious. You can be strong and a damsel in distress at the same time. People adore you. I could get you places, Dylan. You could be the next Angelina Jolie!"

"A million kids and young things trying to steal my place?"

"You know what I mean, Dylan."

"If I have it, I will still have it when I get back," I popped the top to my soda, and I went back to my seat.

"The public may lose interest, Dylan. This is your golden chance, and you're wasting it in London. I could have you on the Red Carpet, and you want to be at school."

"Yes, I do," I flipped my red ringlets, and I changed the TV to a movie.

"You'll regret this," Anna stood, holding her blackberry in her palm as she walked to the bathroom.

"Then you can say I told you so."

Anna rolled her eyes as she went to the bathroom, and I brought out my macbook as I logged on to the plane's Wifi.

I logged on to my email, and I smiled at the email from Massie.

**From Massicure:**

**You two better not be too jet lagged for shopping tomorrow. KISS's big party is on Friday, and your invites just got in. If you two want to make an impression, now is the time. See you soon.**

**XOXO**

**Mass**

I smiled to myself.

I had missed Massie like a heartbeat, and I was excited to finally have my Alpha back, especially staying with her for the next school year.

Feeling a great high, I decided to face the music and check the response to my leaving on Twitter.

"_GOING TO MISS YOU, DYL!"_

"_Take London by storm!_

"_Show is going to suck without you. Hurry back!"_

I read through the positive ones, avoiding the occasional, "You suck!" or rant about how I was famous for being famous and lacked substance. I was used to that by now. It came with the turf, and I understood what I was getting into when we first started shooting, even if it wasn't my choice.

I smiled as I began a post.

**Over the Atlantic. Can't wait to be on the ground again! #LandThisThingAlready!**

I pressed the post button, and I looked out to the Atlantic below me.

It was hard to imagine that, just yesterday, I was on my summer vacation in on the private island my mother bought near Parrott Island.

I had wanted to spend my summer in Westchester since I would be spending the next semester in London until I returned to New York. But I hadn't spent a summer in Westchester since I was about seven. I packed up all my stuff before I left for the private island, and it was mailed to the Block Castle back in May.

And now I was about to join it.

I was pretty scared, I had to admit.

But I was also relieved.

No more cameras. No flashing paparazzi. No more constant talk of fame.

Just a semester in the beautiful city of London.

**Claire,**

I sat in between Cam and Layne in the luxurious First Class seats.

Layne was sitting on the other side of the aisle, bopping her head to Linkin Park and reading through the latest issue of Rolling Stone.

Layne wasn't exactly the normal music majors to go to KISS. Last year, she sent me a picture of the entire group of Music Majors. There the rocker guys, symphony girls, and pop-star wannabes. Layne was a kind all of her own.

As of our freshman year, she had been attending the boarding school, KISS, in good old London, England. It was a boarding school for the British Elite, and it offered everything from the arts to amazing science programs.

From the time I first moved to Westchester, Layne had been my best friend. But she wasn't the first person that year to leave me for KISS. My other best friend, Massie Block, did as well when she moved to London. And now there was my longtime boyfriend, Cam.

He was a genius, though that could be just because I was completely in love with him.

At the end of the school year, Cam got a invitation to study business at KISS, and he would have been an idiot to let it go. So… he didn't.

And I would have been an idiot to let him go, so I didn't.

After begging my parents, I finally got them to let me also go to KISS, though I was not allowed to live in the boarding school part. Instead, I was staying with my best friend, Massie, in the Block Castle.

"God, this place is amazing."

I turned over to look at my boyfriend, who was studying the KISS book about their classes, their dorms, and other such vital things of the school. As a day student, I didn't need to know half of it, but my mother had insisted I read it. So I spent my days by the pool reading that instead of the usual US Weekly.

"I'm starting to think you love this school more than me," I laughed.

Cam had been talking about it since he first accepted the offer.

He was excited about the classes. The teachers. The dorms. The culture. The variety. Just about everything.

I had been dating Cam since seventh grade, and we had been through our spats and temporary-break ups. I had seen him through everything, but I had never seen him nearly this excited. It was like meeting a new Cam, and I had to admit that I was actually getting pretty jealous of the school despite myself.

"Shut up," he kissed my cheek, and I smiled as I turned back to my laptop, drafting an email as Cam continued to read about the school.

**From: GummiClaire**

**Cam is **_**obsessed**_** with this school. Still reading the book. Is KISS that great or is Cam in for a disappointment?**

I pressed send and waited impatiently for Massie to respond.

I was about to go back to the inflight movie of Garfield when I got another email.

**From: Massicure**

**It's pretty great. How is Cameron doing? Gawd, I've barely heard anything about him this summer. Did you see him much?**

No, he was in Westchester, living only a few blocks away. But he was always busy working with his dad…

**From: GummiClaire**

**I didn't see him that much, I guess. Speaking of boys this summer, how was your single summer in the city of love? Anyone new I need to know about?**

I could still remember the tear-stained face of Massie as she skyped all of us to tell us of her break-up.

Last winter, we all skipped Aspen and came to England. We then met James Winthrop, the amazing British boy that Massie had been dating basically since her second week in the new country. They were a perfect couple, and they seemed completely happy.

In April, James broke up with Massie suddenly and got on his private jet for Monte Carlo.

Massie took it hard, and I still wasn't sure if she was being truthful when she said she was over it.

**From: Massicure**

**Dates every weekend, yes. Anyone serious, no. Now I know you, don't read into this, Claire. I am fine. I just haven't found anyone yet. Besides, I kind of like being single. Its freeing, and I never have to put up with what I don't want to. I don't have to watch football or meet the parents. I can just be the date on Friday night.**

I didn't believe her, but there was nothing I could do about it.

I could do something about it when I got there though…


	3. Chapter 2

_**Yes, I am reusing Gossip Girl like in **_**Once an Alpha, Always an Alpha**_**. But it won't play such a big part as in that story.**_

_**Massie,**_

As Claire logged off to watch an inflight movie and Dylan said she had to Skype with her mom, I closed my laptop, and I looked around my giant bedroom.

Like the crème white of the iPad, my room in New York, this room was lilac and different shades of purple.

It had been the last thing my mother had finished with me before she started spending more time in the flat in London, and she had made it amazing, I had to admit.

The walls were lilac with white chrome molding, and the floors were dark hardwood. All the drapes were a dark punch of purple, with the sheer over the door to the grand balcony being a shade in between lilac and dark purple. My bed spread was mauve silk, and the canopy was sheer lilac.

The furniture was mostly purple. My bedpost was white, and the bench at the foot of my bed was grey silk. On the wall over the fireplace, we had purple curtains drawing away from the plasma screen, and the couch was grey as well with a lilac shag rug. My desk was white with a purple chair, and my closet had been full of too many colorful clothes to follow the purple criteria, so the door was kept shut.

Usually, when I sat in my room, I felt royal and relaxed with all of the purple and the natural light, but not today.

In fact, I felt otherwise.

In Paris, I had been able to push off my worries with the difference of my surroundings. I smelled coffee and bagels in the morning instead of our cook's delicious eggs benedict, and I saw pure white and modern instead of the old house here. I saw the Eiffel tower instead of the countryside.

But I was back to familiarity, and familiarity brought back my worries…

School started in four days, and I was completely prepared. I had my outfit prepared for my first day of school, and I already had signed up for all of the classes I wanted. My SUV was waiting in the garage for the drive to school, and I had my backpack already packed.

I should have had nothing to worry about. I had taken care of everything I needed to take care of and more, but that wasn't why I was freaking out.

As my old friend, Emma, had called me, I was Super Woman. My car could break down, and I could turn walking into being fashionably late. I could lose my hair from stress and make everyone else shave their head and get cute scarves like me. I could make do of just about anything.

I was worried about him…

Sir James Winthrop II.

We met on the plane to London, and we became best friends over Christmas break. By the time school was starting, we both liked each other, and we were the schools most popular couple by Valentine's Day.

More than that, he was my first long-time boyfriend. I didn't just date him because he was hot (which he definitely was), or sporty (he was captain of the soccer team), or even popular (which he also was). I really liked him. He made me laugh and relax and feel like I was invincible.

Well, that was how it was in the beginning.

By that summer, I was beginning to think that I might actually love him. By Halloween that year, I knew, and, by Christmas, I had told him and he had told me. For the next four months, we were really happy. Despite myself, I thought that we could really be it.

And things changed one fateful day in April when he stopped by…

With just a few words, he broke my heart, and, before I could even find the strength to scream at him, he was in his parent's town car. For the last month of school, he was on a mission trip in Africa that the school gave him an excused absence for.

Ever since, no one had heard from him, or, if they had, they didn't tell me.

But now school was starting back…

James was a second generation KISS student. He went to camp there from the time he was a child. He had attended all of the games since the time he was seven, and he started at the school when he was thirteen. This was basically his school.

Just because he jetted off in April, would he ditch us now?

"Is he back?" I wondered aloud, looking up to the ceiling.

I shook off my thoughts, reminding me of the hatred that had grown for him since he left, and I got off my bed to the luxurious bathroom, starting a lilac bubble bath as I stripped out of my designer sun dress, throwing it into the hamper.

_This year is not about James. This is about you and your friends, _I told myself, getting into the warm tub, and I took a deep relaxed breath.

The summer was his. The summer was wearing chic black dresses and big black sunglasses as I looked at happy couples in Paris, looking like I was in mourning. The summer was drinking strong black coffee and wandering through the city, wearing out my Amex as I mourned. And the summer was going to Monte Carlo and only watching not dating the hot super-hot guys at the pool.

"And now to make sure I stay relaxed," I dried my hands with a towel and grabbed my iPhone from a plush chair, and I was about to make reservations for a spa day tomorrow with the girls when I got an alert from Gossip Girl.

Gossip Girl was a hit show in America, and it had done well in the UK.

About a year ago, some girl decided to make a little gossip blog for KISS. Somehow, the gossip blog grew and grew until it had its own app, countless followers, and was trusted by almost every KISS student who had any access to the internet.

_Urgent_, blinked on the alert, and I pressed the button, ready to hear another story about my friends coming to town. Everyone had been talking about it since I first mentioned them before the summer.

**Beautiful morning, eh?**

**Full of trains, town cars, and planes are getting in to the wonderful England from a fun summer for all of our elite students. The air smells like strong coffee to cure jet lag and hangovers, and everyone is buzzing around with all of the latest summer vacation gossip.**

**But the best gossip didn't happen on a beach or the mountains or even metropolitan flats. Our best news happened right here in good old London, England.**

**And now that our queen bee, Massie Block, has stepped foot back on English soil after spending a summer with her mother in Paris, we have to break the news.**

**Sorry, M. You have to hear it some time.**

**Spotted, Sir James Winthrop getting out of a town car in London.**

**I wonder if his queen is just as happy to see him as we are…**

**XO XO**

**Gossip Girl**

I almost dropped my phone in the tub, and my eyes widened at the picture of James in our favorite tea shop in London.

_**Dylan,**_

I waited impatiently as the car slowly made its way from the airport to the countryside estate of the Blocks.

My watch said that I was an hour early, and I quickly sent Massie a text that I would be there soon. But Massie hadn't answered, making me worry for my Alpha.

Massie had been standing by her phone at all times for the last week as we all got ready to go to London, and there had never been a text left unanswered by her in that time, even if some of them were drunk texts from her night out on the town with a French friend, Ali.

I knew she was probably tired or sleeping off the Champaign from the train, but my worry got the better of me. And my super slow driver wasn't helping anything.

Rolling my eyes, I turned my Galaxy S3 on its side and shot off a text to my best friend.

**Mass? You there?**

I pressed send and leaned back.

I should have been comfortable in the town car arranged by Massie. On a red iPad 2, she had my favorite movie, Mean Girls, playing for the drive. There was Champaign waiting for me in the car, along with my favorite treats, and the seats were warmed to the perfect temperature.

Like everything Massie did, it was perfect down to the details.

Which is why this shocked me so much.

She had been planning everything about tonight for the last four months, and it was here. Yet, I had heard _nothing._

"How much longer do we have?" I asked the driver, leaning up to look at him.

"We are almost there, Ms. Marvil," the driver's accent was so British I almost didn't understand it, but I had heard that so much that I didn't to hear it again.

I looked out the window to the estates with last names written on gold plates by the gate, the names being more impressive to some than the estates. I watched the long names pass by me, and the space between each of them was getting bigger and bigger.

Until finally I saw the golden plate for _The Blocks._

Even though I had seen it before and spent three weeks in the grand castle, I still had to stop and stare in awe at the beautiful mansion, in awe at how it felt like it was picked up from the year it was built and just added a few upgrades like plumbing and electricity.

The town car pulled into the circular driveway, and I smiled wide as the car stopped.

"I will bring your bags inside," the driver told me, and I could barely even register his voice in excitement. I shoulder my traveling tote back, and I opened the door to take a step on the gravel.

_The first step for a new life and a new Dylan. This calls for Champaign._

I walked up to the front door, and I pushed it open with ease, expecting my best friend to be standing there with drinks and a big "I fooled you," smile.

But it was empty except for party planners in the great room.

"You're early, too?!" one complained.

"Where is Massie?"

The party planners shrugged and went back to work while Mr. Block made his way to me.

"Dylan! Darling, it's been so long!" he wrapped me up in a hug.

"Um, where's Massie? I've been texting her for an hour, and I haven't heard back," I pushed my carnation red hair behind my ear.

"Hmm, she should be in her room. By the way, once you get up there, you can't come back down. I was throwing a little surprise party for you girls, but you and Massie got home early."

"Oh, um, of course. Great to see you, Mr. Block. I'll go find Massie," I smiled at him, and I started up the stairs towards Massie's wing.

I passed by what was supposed to be my room and what was supposed to be Claire's room, and I worked my way to the end of the hall where Massie's gorgeous bedroom awaited me.

"Massie? I'm here!" I smiled opening the door wide, and I was expecting a hug. But what I saw just made me gasp.

Massie was on the bed, chocolate and Champaign beside her on the night table. Only wearing her lilac silk robe, she was hugging her knees as she tried to fight off an impending freak-out. She was almost shaking from keeping it all in.

"What happened?" I dropped my bag and rushed towards her.

"He's back."

"Who?"

"James!" Massie hid her head in a pillow, and it all let loose.

"I thought you were over him," I rubbed her back, "That he was just a jerk. That you deserved better."

"But that was when I thought he was in Africa or something! He's in _London!_"

"You saw him?"

"No," Massie sat up, drinking more from her glass, "Gossip Girl. They have pictures. He went to our tea shop."

Massie took a big bite of Hershey's bar.

"I've never seen you like this, like _ever_," I wasn't sure what to do.

Massie was always calm. Always collected. And got even, not sad.

Usually, she would be sliding into stilettos, changing her Facebook picture to something hotter, and getting one of his friends on the phone.

But she was…_crying._

"I never got a break-up point. He-He was in Africa. The city was mine, I didn't have to worry about seeing him. Or him going to our favorite places. Or… or wearing his hair how I like. Or-or d-dating other girls," Massie started crying.

"I know," I rubbed her back again.

"We were together for a year," Massie moved over to let me in the bed, and I made myself a glass of Champaign, "I haven't even had the same pair of shoes for a year. I told him I loved him, and he said he loved me. And I know it sounds cliché. The teenage girl gets her heart broken when she believes a guy who says he loves her, but I did. He-he looked like he meant it."

I nodded, drinking a sip of Champaign and adding some more to her glass.

"We had just _made it official_ during Christmas break!" Massie took a bite of chocolate and a sip of wine, "Did you know we were making plans for him to come and spend a month in Paris this summer? And then poof. He breaks up with me and gets on a plane for Africa!"

"He was stupid to let you go."

"But why did he do it? We were so happy!"

"I don't know. But he made a big mistake, and we're going to show him."

"We are?"

"Your dad is throwing a big surprise party, and we have four hours and credit cards. Let's make him bawl with regret when he sees those pictures on Gossip Girl."

"You're right," Massie nodded, sitting up in bed, "I am Massie Block. I'm better than this."

"Yes you are!"

"And I am going to show him what he is missing!" Massie stood triumphantly.

"Exactly!" I climbed over to stand next to her.

"I love you, Dylan! Gawd, I missed you!" she hugged me, and I smiled.

"Just let me get dressed."

"And let me finish my drink."

Massie smiled as I took a sip of wine.

**Claire,**

While Cam and Layne took a bite of the sushi Massie sent with the car, I looked back to my cell phone to look through the pictures of the shopping adventure Dylan and Massie documented with their smart phones so that "I could be there with them."

I suddenly wished I had chosen to take the early flight instead of hanging out with Cam and Layne on the plane. It had been a good plan when Massie was supposed to be staying for dinner with her mom and getting a train in afterwards and Dylan having to do something with her family so she would fly in later.

But Massie's mom had a date, and she took the train into London around lunch, and Dylan arrived two hours later. So, while I was watching _Betsy's Wedding_ on the plane, they were in the heart of London, getting party dresses for tonight

"So, a not-surprise surprise party? Why do we have to come?" Layne asked, looking at me.

"Because Massie wants you there. I thought you said you two got along at school."

"Because we saw each other at lunch and said hello at the supermarket. I wasn't staying for a party and spending the night in her guest room."

"Hey, I have to do it, too," Cam smirked.

"Oh yeah, staying the night with your girlfriend before moving into a strict boarding school. We are _soo_ in the same boat," Layne rolled her eyes, straightening her boots.

"Claire and I will be fine, Layne. You're just not over your split with Aiden."

"_Hadyn_," Layne corrected, moaning, "And I _was_ over him until you had to go and bring him up!"

"I thought he moved to Dubai because his mom was getting remarried and that you broke up with him," I looked between Cam and Layne.

"He did, and I did. Doesn't mean I don't miss him," Layne shrugged.

"It's all she's talked about at band practice."

As Layne and Cam continued on about their old middle school band that was more of an excuse to hang out in the basement and play video games, I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.

I had been able to handle Cam working all summer and not having time with me, and I could just ignore the fact that he only talked about KISS in the little time he had for me. I could even let go of his sudden interest in London and its culture.

But Layne not telling me things like missing her ex-boyfriend? And telling _Cam_?

Layne had been my best friend since I first moved to Westchester and attended OCD, and we told each other everything, even stuff we didn't want to know to know about each other. Yes, Cam and Layne had also been friends for years, but it was different.

I was her best friend, and she wasn't telling me things!

_Claire, stop it. You're overreacting. So what she didn't tell you she missed her ex. It's not the end of the world, and you can't be so territorial_, I reminded myself.

But I was so paranoid about KISS.

I had come to London so that I wouldn't have to lose Cam to KISS, but I felt like I already had. His heart belonged to the school, and I didn't know where I was. And now I worried that I had lost my best friend and didn't even know it…

"This is it," the driver broke me out of my thoughts as he pulled up to the circular driveway of the Block Castle.

"Wow," Cam muttered, "Definitely Massie's style."

Layne didn't say anything, she just opened the car door and started out, me following her.

I had to admit Layne was beautiful.

Her long ink black hair was tied in a braid down her back to show her silver chain earrings. She had a sweetheart face, dark brown eyes, a roman nose with a silver stud, and a funny smile. Her stockings were ripped, and her thin body was shown off in a lose tunic dress with the name of her favorite band sprayed across it.

We didn't look much alike. My hair was blonde, and I had it curled. My eyes were blue, and I was petite. I was wearing a pair of jeans and a light blue V-Neck tee shirt, and everyone always said I looked "delicate" or that I looked like Jenny from Gossip Girl.

For years, people had always stopped and stare when they saw us together, as if wondering if we were step-sisters or something.

"I will take your bags up," the driver began.

"Oh leave the bags with Cam and Layne on it. We're driving off to KISS tomorrow," Layne told the driver, and I frowned again.

"Of course," the driver grabbed my power blue luggage set, and Cam draped his arm around me.

"To the party," he kissed my cheek, and I smiled as I went up the stairs with him, and Layne opened the door before Cam could even move to it.

"Surprise!"

I gasped.

But it wasn't at the party.

I already knew about that.

It wasn't at the amazing turn out.

I expected that because of Massie.

It wasn't even my amazing acting skills.

It was the house…

Or castle I better say.

I had been here before, but I had forgotten the splendor of the place, especially when it was twinkling with lights, sparkly party dresses, and expensive Champaign.

"Claire!"

Dylan ran off to me, wrapping me up in a hug before I could process everything.

Dylan was beautiful. She was about 5'10, being three inches taller than me not including the stellar heels she was wearing. Her read hair was thick and curly, and it reminded me of Christmas. Her eyes were green, and face had a single freckle above her eye. She was wearing ruby red lipstick and a loose green dress on her curvy figure.

"Ehmagawd!"

And there she was.

Massie Block.

Massie Block was a goddess.

Her hair was long and brown with caramel highlights, and it was naturally wavy. Her smile was dazzling had never needed braces to be that way. She had a perfect body at a comfortable size six, and she proudly showed off her non-implant C-Cups. Her legs were long and lean, and her waist was tiny. Her nose was perfectly sculpted, as were her lips, and everyone thought she had gotten this from a scalpel. But this was all Massie.

Tonight, she looked even better than usual.

Her long hair was tied in a perfect half-up bun, and her Ralf Lauren red dress looked like it had been designed for her. She was wearing a new ruby set, and her lips were as red as her dress.

Massie looked like she had spent the entire summer planning that outfit, and it was hard to imagine that she had picked it out just a few hours ago.

"Claire!" she smiled, hugging me tightly as soon as Dylan let her go.

I couldn't even say hello before she wrapped her hand around mine.

"Come on, I have a dress for you!" she hurried me up the stairs, and Dylan followed.

I would have felt bad about leaving Layne and Cam in a room full of British strangers, but, as I looked over as I was going up the stairs, Layne was showing Cam off to her friends from KISS. And he seemed to be doing alright…

I smiled racing after my girlfriends.


	4. Chapter 3

_**Massie,**_

As I grabbed a glass of Champaign, I looked around to the bustling party.

Standing there, in the middle of the party with a poised look about me and a serious face, I looked like a queen. I was wearing an expensive and ravishing red Ralph Lauren dress, and I was decked out in my favorite ruby set. I looked elusive in my three inch red heels, and I looked dignified but still fun in my half-down hair-do.

I had often been told I looked like a queen, one Royal (the nickname I had given to the certain people in my school who loved to brag how many people would have to die for them to become monoarch, though it was more likely I would get there before they did) had even asked if I was a queen from another small country when I first moved here.

Queen I understood. Queen was alpha. Queen was Massie Block.

And, for the first time since I left for London, I felt Queen again.

I had a lavish, beautiful party full of beautiful music, delicious food, amazing drinks, and the perfect setting. I had my members of my royal court at my side, and everyone had shown up for me, pledging their loyalty to me as their queen.

But being Queen wasn't the same without my King.

As I stood there, I knew that his arm should have been wrapped around my waist, whispering "My little Queen," in my ear as he always did at the success of a party. I knew that we should be sneaking in the kitchen to keep from people snapping pictures right about now, and I knew that we should be making plans for coffee to talk about our summer while I gently laughed that he was ruining my lip gloss, though I really didn't want him to stop.

But I had no clue where he was right now.

It was a feeling I was used to by now. The last I had heard of him, he was in Monte Carlo, and that was in June. The Gossip Girl post announcing he was back was big news to me, and I hated that.

We weren't just dating. James had been my best friend…

I should know this on my own, he should be calling me to tell me! Gossip Girl should be finding out after me, I shouldn't have to fake a knowing smile about knowing. And I shouldn't have been blindsided by this.

"So, you sure you're okay?"

I looked back to Dylan, who grabbed a glass of Champaign off a waiter.

It almost felt weird to hear her voice after so long of phone calls and video chatting. Her New York accent had been dulled thanks to the Marvil voice training coach that wanted them to be relatable to the rest of the country. But her voice was so distinctly American that it made me smile.

My voice was a combination of different cultures. I had a French twinge from the last year of my mom mixing the two languages in conversation. My years in Britain gave me a small accent, and my American was still hidden under there.

I still remembered how much I cried when I first found I was starting to sound British, though I wouldn't let anyone know how much it bothered me. I felt like I betrayed the Pretty Committee by becoming British.

Only James had known that I cried because of it, and he had helped me by taking on part of my American accent.

"Well, we dated a long time. And he was there for all of high school and my transition to Britain. It _has_ to hurt. But I can move past it," I shrugged, taking a drink from my Champaign flute, and I prayed she wouldn't ask so many questions.

Dylan shrugged.

I began to wonder if I really would or if it would be a lie I told everyone until I believed it myself.

"What about you and that Tom guy?" I asked, not wanting to talk about my love life.

"We split. I was moving to England for a year and leaving behind the fame world he loved so much. So he started dating some actress, Andrea. We weren't going to last anyway. He was in LA, I was in New York. And he wants to be famous, I got it forced on me."

"Please, Dylan, you know you adore it," I smirked, nudging her.

"But it's hard to grow up and find yourself when you have to play a character on a show and pretend it is you. Let's face it, I haven't had a real boyfriend since Middle School and I have no clue what I want to do with my life."

"You're sixteen. You have time, Dylan."

"Says the girl who has known she wanted to go into PR since she was nine."

"Shut up," I smiled, and Dylan turned to look at me.

"Come on, since when were we wall flowers?" Dylan smiled, and she wrapped her hand around mine. I barely even had time to put down my glass before Dylan was pulling me off to the dance floor where everyone was having fun, and Dylan and I began to dance.

I was never a good dancer, though Dylan was.

It was my one fault, and I usually avoided dancing unless it was a slow dance or the waltz.

But tonight I didn't care.

I began to dance, and Dylan and I even began to sing along to the sign, laughing and falling all over each other like we were drunk or insane or both.

I hadn't had this much fun in so long that it felt alien. My British buds were great, but they could never be the PC. They didn't know me like the PC did.

The PC had seen me as everything. A lowly beta trying her hardest to work her way up in the world. A dictator alpha. A cruel girl desperate to keep her status as alpha. A girl who secretly had a soft side and couldn't live without her friends. A girl sobbing as she broke the news that her life was being uprooted and there was nothing she could do about it.

My British friends only saw me as the now-me. A lowly new girl who worked her way up in the world. A girl who kept control on her kingdom but wasn't too strict that everyone hated me. A girl who was able to adapt to anything and everything.

I was about to kick off my expensive heels to embarrass myself more with my dancing, but then a certain sparkly blonde appeared at our side.

"Claire!"

Claire's blonde hair was in a braided up-do. Her make-up was delicate, and she was wearing her favorite gold star earrings. On her short frame, her gold dress went just above her knees, and it shone like a disco ball in the room. She wanted to be a star, so I made sure she looked like one.

"Where's Cam?" Dylan yelled over the music.

"Talking about school with some guy on the soccer team. If I hear one more thing about class, I am going to kill someone!" Claire complained, and I laughed as she fell into my hug, and Dylan grabbed another glass of Champaign from a waiter.

"You need this," Dylan handed Claire the drink, and she happily took a long sip.

I began to laugh.

"Go, Claire!"

_**Claire,**_

My eyes began to flutter open, and I smiled wide.

The Block Castle could make anyone feel like they had just been transported back in time. Everything here was designed to be that way, and everything was lavish and beautiful, especially for guests. When I was here, I felt like a lady coming to visit the Princess Massie.

But that was when I was just staying in another guest room.

Now I was in my own room, and I felt like the long lost princess that had just claimed her title.

I suddenly forgot my own room back in Westchester with the light green walls, posters for boy bands, and my overflowing closet.

Everything was perfect.

My canopy bed was so soft I didn't want to get out, and the blue on the drapes matched my eyes. The walls were a light calming blue, and there were cute sayings on the wall. The floor was hardwood, but, beside my bed, there was a light blue shag rug. My TV was state of the art, and the couch looked unbelievably beautiful and comfortable. At my desk, there was a new video camera and a note saying I should use it to record my next performance.

Everything was perfect…

I rolled over in my bed to see Cam, and I gasped.

He wasn't there…

I sat up in bed, and I began to panic as I looked for him.

I was about to call out to Cam when I saw him standing by the desk.

I smiled, pulling my knees to my chest.

"You're up."

He turned back to smile at me, and my face fell at the sight of his duffle.

"And packed."

"Yeah, I was going to go ahead in when you woke up.

He spent the night with me in the Block Castle because it was too late for him to go on to his dorm in KISS, and he was planning on driving in with our friend, Layne, later today. But I had expected he would at least stay for breakfast.

Honestly, I was expecting that we would wake up and have some of the amazing breakfast Massie bragged about and get Massie's driver to take us into town and get to see London for the rest of the day. Maybe then we would get some lunch and drive in about one or two and that I would help him unpack.

"I just thought we might hang out today before you went in."

"I know," Cam sat on the bed beside me, "But the soccer tryouts are today."

"Right," I looked down.

"Come on, Gummi Claire," he smiled at me, "We have a year here. We can hang out any other time."

I nodded.

"How about we get some sushi on Friday?"

"I can't. The big KISS party for the beginning of the year is on Friday, and I promised Massie and Dylan I would go."

"Right."

"How about Saturday?"

"I can't. Some of the guys last night and I made plans to play soccer."

"Oh," I looked down.

Someone banged on the door.

"Camera, you said you wanted to make that orientation thing. Get your butt out here or we'll be late."

Layne.

I knew I had to understand that this was supposed to be a busy time for Cam. He didn't have friends here yet, and he had just moved to England and left his home. He had to unpack, to make friends, and start his life here. And I knew I was a part of it.

I smiled, feeling better about it, and he leaned in to kiss the top of my head.

"Love you, Claire."

"Love you, too."

He shouldered his duffle.

"I'll call you tonight," he smiled as he opened the door.

"Bye, Claire," Layne waved like a crazy five year old.

"Bye, Layne," I laughed, and they were just gone like that.

I looked around my empty room for a while, and I stood up to draw back the curtains to the small balcony.

The warm sun falling on me, I pulled on the light blue silk robe with _Claire_ written in dark blue cursive that Massie had given me, and I stepped into my plush blue slippers. I brushed through my hair quickly, and my mouth was beginning to water as I smelled the breakfast downstairs.

As I was stepping out, I ran into Dylan, who was just leaving her room.

Dylan was pulling her red curls into a ponytail when she saw me.

Like me, she was wearing a red silk robe with her name monogramed on the breast. She was wearing a pair of black flats, and she was holding her cell phone.

"Hey, Claire."

"You sleep okay?"

Dylan shrugged as we both started walking.

"Jet lag. Barely slept a wink. I ended up watching TV last night. Thank God Massie has American programs, too. British stuff mainly sucks."

I smiled as we walked down the stairs, and we worked our way through the castle to get to the kitchen.

In a house like this, we should have been getting lost, but the sweet smell of cinnamon rolls and bacon served as our guide. And my stomach was growling by the time we made it to the expensive kitchen made for cooking for parties.

"You're up. I thought you would want to sleep late."

I stared at Massie.

Even when she had just woken up, she looked perfect.

Her skin was tan from her time in Monte Carlo. Her wavy brown hair was in a ponytail, and her eyes were sweet amber. Her lilac silk robe was open to her black tank top and shorts, and her body was perfect. With proactive-clear skin and naturally rosy lips, she didn't even really need make-up.

You had to have good self-confidence to be friends with a girl who looked like Massie, and, while I wasn't sure I looked nearly as good as she did, I was still perfectly fine with being her friend.

"Couldn't sleep," Dylan moaned, sitting on the stool to one side of her, and I sat on the other.

"Esmeralda, can you please give Dylan a cup of coffee and some breakfast for the two of them, please?"

"Of course, Miss Massie," an aging British woman smiled at her as she went to get everything for us.

Esmeralda had been hired as soon as they got to England, and she and Massie had been close. Esmeralda became the new Inez, and they had gotten even closer after Massie's parents divorced. I always adored seeing Esmeralda when I came her, she always spoiled us rotten.

"Cam got up early morning. Some orientation, he just left."

As Esmeralda handed Dylan her coffee and went back to making us each a plate, Massie put her hand on my shoulder.

"I know you wanted to go into the city with him and everything."

"It's fine," I shrugged, and I smiled when Esmeralda put a plate in front of me full of bacon, scrambled eggs, orange juice, and a cinnamon bun covered with icing.

"Thank you," I smiled wide, and happily took a bite of the scrambled eggs.

"Do you want to come into the city with me? We can still have that fun day you planned."

I shook my head and took a drink from my glass of orange juice.

"I have a lot of unpacking to do."

Massie looked to Dylan.

"I need to get some sleep."

"Well, I better unpack, too. Do you guys mind going shopping for Uniforms tomorrow?" Massie asked, taking a bite of her cinnamon bun.

"Sure," I shrugged.

_**Dylan,**_

As I hung up the last dress, I looked around my walk-in closet. It was basically another room, and I didn't have nearly enough clothes to fill it up.

It reminded me of my mother's closet that I used to play in. Running around there as a little kid was like going on a shopping adventure, only mom wasn't on her cell phone the entire time. Her closet was one of my favorite places as a child.

I still remembered hiding in the many ball gowns and watching my father pack up his side of the closet as he began his move to his modern mansion on the other side of town, where he now lived with his new wife, Kaitlyn, and their twins, Finnegan and Maggie.

As I thought back to the four year olds, I remembered the episode where I pretended to make nice with Kaitlyn so that we could be a united family for Finn and Maggie. In honesty, I hated Kaitlyn and often brought up the fact that she was only fifteen years older than me. Maggie was adorable but just like her mother, and I adored Finnegan.

It had killed me to pack up and leave Finn with Kaitlyn, Maggie, and my two older sisters to raise him for a year. But I was convinced it was right.

And, other than being with Massie, I could barely remember why I came now that the plane had landed and the dust was settled.

It was especially killing me to look at the Twitter posts of my sister.

**JamieMarvil:**

**Just unpacked my bags for a few months with the fam. Too bad Dyl isn't here to complete the family feeling #LoveYouSis**

I didn't even need to think about it to see the dig by my sister. No one had been happy by my choice to leave the show for the season, and Jamie was mad that I was giving up what she wanted. As soon as I broke the news, she made plans to move into her old room from her NYC penthouse for a few months while I was gone to get more airing time.

They started shooting today, and I was expecting to see rough footage from the tears they shot yesterday any minute to torture me.

I threw my cell phone to the bed, and I started towards the rest of the boxes I had to unpack. I was just about to tear open another box when the double doors to my room opened dramatically with Claire and Massie in the doorway.

"Hey, guys."

"Your first story is on Gossip Girl."

"What?"

"Come here," Massie motioned for me to follow her as she hurried to my laptop and logged on to the website.

Claire and I followed after her quickly.

On the front page of the website, there was a picture of three girls. One had brown hair and a red outfit complete with the matching ruby set. One was covered in gold glitter and had long blonde hair, and there was a girl with carnation red hair and a loose green dress.

_Us._

**M can't stand pity, and she was determined to not keep it long by throwing a big party. And she brought a few new guests along.**

**Everyone came out to support our queen, but even those subjects not so loyal wanted to see the new court. Now that B and K are using this year as their year abroad, we knew that M wouldn't stay friendless for long. But we were all shocked when M announced that she was flying her new friends across the pond!**

**Now here they are, and they definitely fit up to the big bill that we expected after all those stories.**

**Rumor is that Claire was once in a big Hollywood flop, Dial L for Loser, stealing the part from M who auditioned with her even though Massie claims she was "too confident to play the role of a loser". And anyone with a fetish for American Reality TV knows America's little angel Dylan Marvil.**

**Everyone says that, if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. But will these girls be able to survive KISS in the dark?**

**I guess we'll get our first glimpse this Friday.**

**XO XO**

**Gossip Girl**

"What does she mean _KISS in the dark_?"

"That's what happens at the party this Friday. At midnight, the lights turn off for a few seconds. It was started as a tradition to end the summer or something, but now it really stands for a new year of scandal. It's a metaphor for what is to come," Massie explained.

"What's to come?" Claire asked timidly, and I stared at Massie.

"We're surrounded by British elite. Sure, they have titles and cute accents. But things here can be just as dirty as in New York. Some people here, though they think their name should one day get them to the crown, think that people in power should work for it. But I can handle them," Massie shrugged.

"What do they do?"

"Nothing if you stick with me. I promise. I can lead these people, they are my kingdom. You'll be fine."

I nodded, though I couldn't stop thinking about it.

"So, what usually happens in this darkness thing?" Claire asked nervously.

"It isn't what happens in the dark. It is what is found out when the lights turn back on," Massie smiled like there was a story to this.

"I'm guessing we have a story?"

"Things always happen. Last year, Lady Leslie Maybell found out her boyfriend was cheating on her when the lights came on and he was kissing Anna Williams. Two years ago, Rebecca had guards waiting on either side of her to take her away because she was officially expelled and not allowed on school grounds in the school year. Every year, it's a new scandal."

"And she thinks it will involve us this year."

"Probably just hoping. We'll be fine."

I hesitated, looking at Massie as I began to wonder if she had ever been involved in a KISS in the Dark Scandal.

Finally, I forced myself to ask.

"Mass, has that ever… happened… to you?"

Massie's eyes turned to determination.

"Never, not once. I have done everything to make sure it was that way, though people have tried. Those few seconds in the dark are like do-or-die. For the last two years, I have had to fight off guys trying to kiss me to break me and James up..." Massie's face fell, "It was a tradition."

A tradition not occurring this year.

Or maybe even ever.

Massie's face showed that she thought about that, and she looked away.

James had not been just a boyfriend. He was _the_ boyfriend, the one we all compared ours to. He had taken Cam's place as #1 boyfriend easily. James was the ultimate example of what Massie needed and what she wanted at the same time.

He was funny but not immature. He could be serious, but he wasn't dull. He was a genius but not a know-it-all. He was quiet and mysterious, but he opened to Massie. He was handsome but not self-absorbed. And he held school-rank while not obsessing over keeping it.

Sir James Winthrop was the boy you dream about when you think of perfect British Hawtie.

And Massie had him, he was hers. Only hers. He wanted only her when he could have anyone.

But then he was gone, flew off into the sunset in a private jet for the summer.

We had all hoped he wouldn't return, that he would stay wherever the hell he went. Despite this, we all knew he would come back. We just didn't know when. We were starting to think it wouldn't be this year, no one had heard from him. No one said a thing. Then his private jet landed on British soil….

"I'll let you girls unpack. Don't worry about _KISS in the Dark_. It all works out as long as you stay on your guard."

Massie smiled goodbye to us, and she started back to her bedroom at the end of the hall, leaving me and Claire together.

"_Kiss in the Dark_…." I said with a weak smile, "Would have caused World War III in Westchester."

Claire laughed, but she was still thinking about it.

Someone always got in trouble.

Who would it be this year?

I worried that this would be the one year that Massie didn't have this under control, and I also worried that the same was true for the rest of the year. It wasn't exactly that she needed James but that she had gotten so used to him by her side that she wouldn't know how to do it. And everyone was already watching her carefully, and I knew someone out there was plotting a downfall for her.

But this was the million dollar question.

Will it work?

* * *

**_I am so sorry this chapter took so long to get up, my laptop broke and there were some problems with the repair because, everytime it got sent off, the guy screwed up the paperwork. And I was using another computer, but I had this chapter half-done on my broken laptop. So I had to wait until I got it back to finish it._**


	5. Chapter 4

_**Massie,**_

Knowing that Dylan and Claire would be unpacking until it was time to get ready to go out for Indian (my dad wanted to go ahead and warn the girls of what we usually did around the house), I picked up my Macbook and I started for the sunroom on the bottom level in the house.

It had once been a room where my mother, during her time in London where she thought herself queen, took her royal court of wealthy housewives and gossiped over Champaign and low-fat pastries. They all were decked out in jewels and expensive outfits and, like the other Royals in my school, talked about how many people would have to die for them to _really_ become queen. This was like the suburban housewives version of the Round Table.

My father didn't really like this room. It reminded him too much of my mother, so it became my room when she moved to Paris. I usually completed my homework here, took out a nice book to relax with, or locked the door and had a bit of fun with James.

But I wasn't armed with a book, any sort of homework, or a hot boy this time.

This room was where my father never bothered me, Dylan and Claire didn't know where it was, and Esmeralda said I was too busy in thought in this room to be ever disturbed.

And I didn't want to be disturbed.

After the post about my clique and a warning for the big KISS party, I had gotten the alert that a new post had come in. But I didn't want to see this one…

Every year, there was the same post. It always came in the week that we all began to return from our summer breaks, a week before the KISS in the Dark party. Before, I had never cared much about it. I knew what I cared about in the post.

Sitting down on a luxurious sofa and smiling at the scenery of the perfectly kept gardens, I logged on to my laptop, and I prepared myself for the worst.

Which is exactly what I got…

Hesitantly, I typed in the address to the website, and I closed my eyes tightly before reading the newest post.

GG always spent the first week letting us all how her favorites spent their summer. And now I saw the page full of all of her favorites and links to their story.

On the very top was me.

_Massie Block,_ stood out in big purple letters, and it was calling to me…

Finally, I couldn't stand it, and I pressed it.

**Massie Block, our favorite little American Gal gone British. Armed with a cute accent and the new keys to a gorgeous castle, she took us by storm. Usually, our Queen spends her summers in New York, back with her old American friends and posting pictures of her in the States.**

**But this summer was different. After the big Block divorce, known for the fight over the Block Castle and the flight of Mrs. Block to Paris, Massie spends her summer in France with her mother. Sounds wonderful, right? Staying an amazing French townhome, shopping in the best stores, spending a few weeks in Monte Carlo. **

**The only thing that could make it better would be a boy on your arm, which Massie **_**didn't**_** have basically since the day she moved to England.**

**The recent break-up with her long-time boyfriend, James, ruined that for poor Massie.**

**I wonder how she dealed with it…**

**XOXO,**

**GG**

The end of the post had a picture of me at my favorite coffee shop near the Louvre, wearing a black mini dress, red scarf, and my hair up in an Audrey Hepburn bun. Though I knew everyone would see me looking refined and beautiful, I also could see just how sad I had looked….

Did I _really _look like that?

I knew I had been sad, devastated even. I knew that I missed James, and that everything reminded me of him, making it a saving grace to be able to leave and go to another country for the summer. I knew the deep, longing frown

I exited out of my page and looked through some of my friends.

And on the very bottom there was the one I knew everyone was really thinking of.

I pressed the button without even really thinking about it.

**Where is James?**

**That's a question we've all heard a million times in the last few months.**

**Sir James Winthrop II was MIA from April to the end of the summer and has suddenly reappeared with a tan in London, buying his school books for the year. No one knows how he spent his summer, or even **_**who with**_**.**

**There is a shroud mystery covering the months leading up to it, too. In April, he broke up with long-time girlfriend, Massie Block, and packed his backs for a mission trip, as he told the school. But where was he really? And why did he leave our Queen Bee behind?**

**For James Winthrop II, there are more questions than answers, but I'll get to the bottom of it. I always do…**

I drew in a breath as I looked at the picture of James.

He was getting out of his vintage Jaguar, which was basically a family heirloom as it was treasured and had been passed down since the grandfather bought it years ago. And it looked like it summer being MIA had made him even more handsome.

His skin had a summer-sweet tan. His black curls were still in the boyish mess, and he had a pair of sunglasses perched on his roman nose, hiding the crystal blue eyes I loved so much. He was wearing a tee shirt for his soccer team and a pair of old jeans, and I still saw a trace of jet lag in him.

Where had he been? Who was he with? What was he doing?

I didn't know.

But I did know one thing.

James Winthrop II was back, and, instead of coming back with new luggage or a new snow globe, he came with a whole new set of secrets.

_**Claire,**_

Finally, I felt like I understood what Cam had been talking about all this time. The school _was_ beautiful…

It resided in an old English castle that was as taken care of as it had been when it was built, only updated of course. The front of the castle held the high school and some middle school classes, and you had to cross the large quad that was big enough to hold a village (and might have in the old days) to get to the other buildings. To the right, there was the building where they had the elementary school and the majority of the middle school classes. There was an extra building to the right that I hadn't asked Massie about, and the dorms were dead ahead.

We were walking through the beautiful quad to get to the dorms.

All day, I had wanted to go to KISS. I wanted to see the school. I wanted to see what he had been raving about for all of this time. The gardens, the legendary quad, the gorgeous castle, and the state of the art living centers all interested me. I wanted to see if Cam's praise was really worth it, but I had only been here a few minutes and thought it deserved it.

But I also really wanted to see the guy who had been driving me crazy with trivia. After being with him all the time and being there for every important moment, I felt withdraw that I couldn't be with him for one of the biggest things in his life.

Even more, I was scared that he _didn't_ feel withdraw. I didn't want him to be dependent on me, but I did want him to wish I could be there. And, considering how fast he took off this morning, it didn't give me the best of feelings.

I was trying to unpack, but my mind kept drifting to whether it would be "Stalker Girlfriend" to go and see him only a few hours after he left when Massie came into my room to tell us that she was going to KISS to check up on an old friend. I jumped at the offer to go with her, and I hurriedly got dressed to go after her. I was so nervous about seeing him that I couldn't even enjoy the beautiful scenery we drove through in Massie's vintage convertible.

I hadn't spoken to him since he left this morning, but I felt like it had been forever.

"Did you ever think of moving into the dorms?" I asked, nervously digging my nails into my arm.

Massie looked back at me.

She shrugged.

"Not really," Massie admitted, and she pulled on a playful smile, "You're not, are you?"

"No, I was just wondering…" I looked up to the big building, and Massie swiped her student ID before pushing the door open.

"Common areas on the first floor, boys on the second, and girls on the third," Massie explained.

"Where are you going?" I asked, silently praying that we were both going to the boys floor.

"Commons area, I suppose," Massie shrugged, "There is someone I need to see…"

Her tone made me not want to ask.

"I guess I better get up there," I nervously glanced to the grand stairs, and Massie shook her head and laughed at me.

"You've wanted to see him _all day_. You haven't stopped talking about it, and you acted like a kid at Christmas when I offered to take you to go see him. Now you _don't want to see him_. Gawd, stop being such a _Caty-Claire_, and put on your big girl panties."

"I'm not being a _Caty-Claire_," I crossed my arms, "I just don't want to be a _Stalker-Girlfriend_, okay?"

"He's known you long enough to know that you _are_ a Stalker-Girlfriend," Massie teased, patting my shoulder.

"Shut up."

"Hey, I'm a stalker girlfriend. And I am _great_ at it, thank you very much. They _never know_. Only James figured it out," Massie kept her playful smile, but I saw the confidence in her amber eyes falter.

I had known the break-up hurt, but it wasn't until I was standing right in front of her that I realized how much she was hurt by James breaking her heart like that.

"I better go, _Caty-Claire_. Now go see your man, girlfriend," she teased me, and she turned towards a doorway and disappeared into the Common Areas.

I took a deep breath and started towards the stairs.

I hurried up the stairs, but I took the time to check out the girl's floor. While nearby, it was still separate and was clear that you would be _killed_ if you broke the rules and went to the next floor.

I reprimanded myself.

I had never been worried about something like that…

As I went to the boy's floor, I began to wonder where Layne was. She would probably already be to the music area, chilling out with her favorite instruments like she always did.

I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I wasn't paying attention, and I kept up my fast pace.

Suddenly, I hit someone full force, and I found myself on the ground with a big thud and the sound of another thud and books.

I blinked my eyes open, letting out a moan, and I almost gasped.

Looking across from me was one of the most handsome men I had ever seen.

I tried not to gasp, and he looked at me with an apologetic smile.

"I am so sorry," he quickly stood and helped me up, and I was so shocked that I could barely speak.

He hurried to pick up his books, and he kept apologizing.

"I wasn't paying attention, I just got back from Soccer Tryouts. I was supposed to help weed out the new kids. Oh God, that sounded mean. No, I mean, I helped with the tryouts," he was nervously rambling, "And I was supposed to go and help my new roommate with something, and I was in a hurry-"

"It's okay, really. I wasn't paying attention either."

He smiled apologetically again.

"My name is Payne, Payne Williamington. You're new this year, aren't you? You just as in awe as I was when it came to moving into the dorms."

"I'm Claire Lyons, from New York. I'm new, but I don't live in the dorms. I live with my friend, Massie."

"Oh, you're_ that_ Claire?"

"_That Claire_?"

"We've all heard about you. It's been the talk of the town that you just moved to England. After what a great impression Massie made, everyone has been talking about the New York girls showing up," he smiled.

"You know Massie?"

"Well, not anymore I guess."

I raised my eyebrows.

"I'm friends with _him_."

He didn't even need to say his name, we knew who he meant.

_James_.

My stomach fell to my feet as I realized it would become a divided kingdom as KISS had to choose between their beloved royals, Queen Massie and King James. Even more, Massie would lose some of her friends because it would come time to choose.

"Oh… Do you know where he… _was_?"

"No," Payne shook his head.

We nodded, and a silence filled the air.

"Claire," I heard a boy's voice, and my smile widened.

I turned back to the stairs to see my boyfriend wearing his sweaty gym clothes with a soccer ball in a bag on his back.

"Cam!"

He kissed the top of my head and pulled his arm around me, letting me lean into him.

I smiled wide, happy that he was my Cam again.

Why was I so worried?

"So, you've met my girlfriend."

"This is the girlfriend?"

"Yeah, this is Claire. We've been together since Middle School," he kissed my cheek, "And, Claire, this is my new roommate, Payne."

"So you're the new American girl _and_ my roommate's girlfriend?" Payne smirked, "Shouldn't forget you."

"And you better not forget him, Claire. He just got me on the Soccer Team. Do you have any idea how many people on this team are probably going to go Pro, and Payne got me on? I owe this guy big time," I watched Cam seemed to focus on sports instead of me, something he did a lot when he was talking to the other guys, but it got under my skin even more.

"You're awesome, you deserve the spot."

_**Massie,**_

My boots clacked on the hardwood floors of the commons area, and I walked past the kitchen, the extra dining area, the living room, the game room, and the study room.

Everyone hung out here, even if you didn't live on Campus. There were a few frequents for the KISS students. The KISS students hung out here in the common areas, the shopping area in town and in London, the cute little café with tea that we all loved, and the quad.

The school was equipped with enough that you didn't really need to leave. An indoor and heated pool for a good swim. Delicious food. A media center. Concerts in the quad. Friends all around. Geek squad on all time for your cell phone and laptop. A spa area for relaxing. An amazing tea shop. And all that jazz.

When I first got to KISS, I never wanted to leave. James, my two girlfriends, and I found ourselves always on the grounds when we were here. But, by the end of the summer, I was stuck at home and the area. I fell in love with it, and I still hung out at school. But there were still times I wanted to just go home and get away from school.

And, this year, I _really_ didn't want to be here.

Everywhere I looked I could basically see James.

The loveseat where he would always wrap his arms around me during movie night. The vending machine where I always forced him to go and get my Smart Water during our break in between Math and History. The parties here where we built up our status. Everything….

But I had to come.

I had to find _him_.

Clayton White.

He was a fellow American gone British.

He was a genius, basically finished with all of high school by the end of his first year. He just kept getting bumped up class after class, trying to find something that would stall him and challenge him. That never really happened, but they made a deal with him that he could finish out his high school days in the usual time and just party for the rest of it.

Clayton was the son of a big business man, and his mom died when he was nine. His father dulled the pain by marrying young beautiful woman after young beautiful woman, and Clayton threw himself into computers and book after book to distract himself.

Next thing you know, he is a renowned hacker and genius.

I didn't know him too well, though I knew him. He came to my parties and I went to his. We talked when we were together, and it was a silent agreement that he could take me down whenever he wanted and I could take him down. We didn't mess with each other, and we did our best not to speak at risk of the other wanting revenge.

But I was breaking that rule today.

This was too important.

GossipGirl's post had me thinking.

Where had he been?

My boyfriend knew how to get away, so did I. We had been targeted by GossipGirl so much that we knew how to disappear when we wanted, to go off and make a few secrets. But it was always for a weekend or an afternoon, and it was never really worried about by GG or anyone else.

This had been the question of us all. Parents and teachers asked students where he had suddenly disappeared. Admirers wondered where their crush got on a plane for. Friends, teammates, and even the girl he had once told everything found themselves betrayed and anxious to know where their friend had gone.

He just dropped us all….

But, aside from the moral question of how could he have done it, we all wondered how he could have physically disappeared off the face of the world.

People from KISS went off all over the world for the summer, I even went to the place he told everyone he was going, and he wasn't anywhere. James had never been good at keeping a low profile. His good looks, perfect British accent, and gentle disposition kept him noticed, at least by girls. But no one ever saw him…

And I couldn't just sit back anymore and pout.

I had to know where had gone.

And, if anyone could figure it out, it would be Clayton.

I pushed open the door to the computer lab, and I found row after row of Macs and PC's, printers, and other necessities for teenagers in school. I found one or two students, though they didn't pay me much attention. No one came in here until the middle of the first semester, which is when we all began to get projects.

Beyond that, there was a special area, blocked off only by a door, but it was known to be off limits. Clayton White donated this center for the more advanced computer user, and he got a good photo-op. But it was really just a second dorm room for him where he could do business.

Business, I had never needed his help before.

I found my own secrets, fixed my own problems, and would find what blackmarket item I needed before I asked him for anything.

This was different, and I had to lay down my pride.

I pushed open the door without knocking or anything, and I sucked up all my courage for a brave face.

Clayton seemed to be expecting me, his eyes were trained on the doorway without even the slightest bit of surprise. He was sitting calmly, a serious face highlighted by eyes filled with amusement.

Clayton was handsome undoubtedly. He had high cheekbones with tan skin from a summer on his father's private island. His eyes were green and known for their mischievous glint. His hair was blonde and spiky, and he usually kept a smirk on his lips.

"Well, if it isn't Massie Block, never thought I'd see you here," he leaned back in his chair, showing off a tee shirt for _The Matrix_.

"Hello, Clayton."

"Why is it that, as soon as a girl is single, she suddenly seems even more gorgeous? But, you my love, were always gorgeous. Why James threw away such a pretty face I will never understand," he smile turned flirtatious, and I made it clear that wasn't why I was here.

So his face went back to normal, and he was the Clayton I knew before.

"Or why he gave up such a hot body. Those short shorts could make him regret leaving you forever," he smirked.

I resisted the urge to try to pull down my shorts to make them seem longer.

"Thanks, Clayton," I crossed my arms.

"Stop being so formal, Mass-"

"Massie."

He kept going, paying me no attention.

"Call me Clay. We're friends, aren't we?"

"I'm not here to make plans for tea, Clayton-"

"Clay."

"_Clay_. I'm here on business."

"Business?" he looked like he might laugh.

I nodded.

He shrugged, and he nodded to a chair.

I sat, and he raised his eyebrows.

"This is what I think it is about, isn't it?"

I nodded.

He seemed to think about it, and he finally noticed.

"You've got a deal, Massie Block. We'll find your boyfriend."

Clayton nodded, and he began to turn back to his computer.

"How much will this cost?" I knew Clayton charged for his services, and I knew that researching James would be labor-extensive and most likely costly.

"On the house. This is your first deal with me, and you've got to be nice to your customers to make sure they'll come back again," Clayton smirked, and I smiled even though I prayed I never needed his help again.

"Thank you, Clay-" I was about to say Clayton when he looked up at me with a reminder, and I stopped.

"You're welcome, Block. But just know that I'll stop work immediately if you tell anyone that you came in here with knocking and that I did this for free. My reputation will be down the drain."

He had playful smirk, though I knew he was completely serious.

"Got it, Clay."

_**Sorry, it took so long to update. But now Massie has someone investigating where James was all that time**_


	6. Surprise With a Cup of Tea

_**Dylan,**_

The three of us were all piled into Massie's vintage convertible as we drove through the English countryside, past beautiful manors and castles.

I had always thought Westchester was beautiful. The mansions were perfectly groomed, the streets all clean, the shops pristine, and everything in its place. But that was before the summer we all got on a plane for Block Castle.

It was like living in a fairytale. I half-expected to see Cinderella running out of one of the many castles, losing her shoe on the way to her pumpkin carriage.

And it was even more perfect in Massie's convertible. The wind whipped through my hair, the scent of fresh air relaxing me. Sunglasses were perched on my nose for one of the few sunny days, and the trees seemed to wave hello in the breeze.

This alone was worth leaving the tv show for.

As I had expected, I woke up this morning to an email from my mom with some of the rough cuts from when they shot the episode about when I left. My twitter was full of fans eager to get my back on a flight to JFK, and my private facebook account was full of pictures of my FF (Famous Friends) group at a latest premiere in LA, one of them holding on to my ex-boyfriend with loving eyes.

Back in New York, I would have had to face the music. I would have to email my mom back, saying that everything would be okay and that I miss them. I would have to reply a sweet note on Twitter that was nice but still firm with me staying. And I would have to like the posts and talk about the premiere to my friends later.

But, in England, time seemed to stop. And I got to just ignore it.

I turned off my laptop, stopped my twitter alerts, and avoided my email.

Instead of answering politely to the requests for my return, I went downstairs to breakfast and made a game plan with Massie for our plans today. Mr. Block told us when our own cars would be here, and I got dressed and went out with Massie and Claire for the afternoon.

"So, you do know where we are going?" Claire broke the silence.

We seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

Massie lived in a small town outside of London. Politicians, business executives, and those of royal bloodlines (though not too high up) lived here. There were things to do, enough so that you didn't have to go into town, but people still did. And Block Castle was just outside of the city.

She knew this place like the back of her hand, but I most certainly did not.

In New York, things were simpler. I knew where I shopped, I knew where I went to school, I knew where my favorite restaurants were, and I knew the parts of New York City I went into. I didn't know much else.

But Massie seemed to have all of the English countryside down.

"Of course, this is just a shortcut."

Massie made a turn, and I found that she was right as we were driving into the city.

Massie cruised through, past houses and stores and restaurants. Suddenly, just as I was really getting into seeing all of the city, Massie pulled into park at a store, and she put her sunglasses in her purse as she got out.

"Now, let me warn you. Felicia Williamston's mom owns this. Her dad is 103rd in line for the throne, and she thinks that means that she is basically the holy grail. So does her mom, who is usually here. So try your best not to bring up anything involving royalty," Massie explained as we got out of the car, and we followed her into the shop, Kingston Apparels.

As I walked in, I understood why they called it Kingston Apparels.

Everything resolved around KISS. Displays held uniforms everywhere. There were tee shirts, jackets, hats, and blankets with the school logo. There was jewelry in the school colors, and there were photos on the wall of the school and some of their students. The other outfits all fit the dress code while still being cute, and even the shoes fit the school guidelines.

Even the woman at the cash register, a young student who seemed to be about fifteen to eighteen was wearing a button up blouse with a KISS tee shirt underneath.

"Massie!"

Suddenly, a girl flew out of the stock room.

"Felicia!" Massie smiled.

Felicia was pretty, even though I could tell first glance that she was doing everything to follow trends.

She had long strawberry red hair that was pulled out of her eyes by a KISS headband. She was wearing a KISS tank top with a kaki blazer. A pair of dark shorts like the ones Massie had started wearing over the summer made Felicia's legs look longer, and she was wearing a loud pair of brown boots, also like the ones Massie had been picked up in Paris and started wearing recently.

She reminded me a lot of Skye Hamilton, though lacking the self-confidence of Skye.

"You look amazing, Felicia," Massie smiled, and Felicia did the same.

"So do you Massie," Felicia didn't seem so happy that Massie had ditched the big brown boots she had been wearing recently for gladiator sandals, but she couldn't complain too much since Massie was still wearing her trend of cute jackets with dark shorts.

"Felicia, these are my friends, Claire and Massie. Is your mom here? We need to get them their uniforms," Massie asked, a friendly smile on her lips.

"Sure, she's in the back. I was just here to grab my cell phone, my mom picked it up by mistake."

Felicia seemed determined to make sure that we knew she wasn't working here and that she was just visiting here.

Also like Skye…

She never wanted _anyone_ to think that she had to _work_ for anything.

"It's been kind of hectic. Dmitri just came back," Felicia shrugged like that should explain it all, and she started off towards the back room again.

I looked to Massie, wondering who Dmitri was.

"Dmitri is her older half-brother. His parents split when he was two, and he's been back and forth from Greece to England since. He adores his mom and his Greek family, so he usually likes to stay there. He also doesn't like his dad's new family too much, especially since how little time passed between him being with Dmitri's mom and being with Felicia's mom and producing Felicia, and he definitely doesn't get along with his step-mom. But his dad is convinced that he should be with him and be a part of the family. Felicia and her mom can't understand why he likes Greece better," Massie explained, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Why's he here now?" Claire whispered.

"Probably his dad, he's been trying to get him back. I guess it doesn't look too great on them that his _'heir'_ lives in Greece instead of with him."

"Do you really know him?" I whispered.

Massie shrugged.

"Not too much. He's a nice guy, a year older than us. He was pretty nice about my parent's divorce, but I don't see him much. I'm in classes focusing on Journalism and PR. He's in stuff like creative writing and drama. Another thing he and his dad don't get along well with. He wants Dmitri in business."

Whatever possibility with this Dmitri guy seemed to fly out the window.

I had dated theater guys before.

It never worked. Some were jealous of my success, seeing me as a shame to the name of acting while they were "real actors" and thought they deserved it. Others would cling to my success, thinking dating me was their big break. Or they were conceded with their own success.

I knew they weren't all like this. I knew that I had found bad ones and that it would be wrong to judge them all based off of that, but I was in England for a new start. And to go and date a Theater Boy would just be going backwards.

I would go through a cycle I had already been through, but I wanted something different this time. I was done with being ordinary. I was done with being the same old Dylan, the one who maintained her image, kept a close eye on social media to keep up my posts, dated the typical actor guys, and did the same old thing over and over again.

I used to be different. I did whatever I wanted whenever I wanted before I got those cameras focused in on me. But, now, the cameras weren't on me, and I was determined to have fun.

"Poor Dmitri," Claire shook her head.

"Don't say that around Felicia's mom. She adores her step-son," Massie rolled her eyes, "as she always says, but she really thinks he is a spoiled brat who has _forgotten his place_. One thing I hoped to leave in New York, legacies. They are worse here than anywhere else."

Claire nodded.

Her boyfriend was a legacy.

He wasn't number one legacy, his older brother was. But his brother announced no interest in the family company, and Cam was abundantly interested. Cam didn't fight his legacy, he brought it on himself willingly.

Massie looked like she was about to say something when a woman came through the door to the backroom.

The woman was clearly a second but not "middle-age crisis" wife.

She looked like Felicia, only with a few cosmetic differences.

Her hair was golden blonde and formed in a blow out with a diamond pin holding it out of her eyes. She was thin (which I couldn't tell if it was from constant exercise or the scalpel). She had a few nips and tucks and some botox to prevent aging. She wasn't desperate to dress young, but I doubted she dressed her own age. She was business-like in a pair of grey trousers and a navy silky shirt. And her smile was as white as the pearls around her neck.

Even Felicia's mother seemed to know Massie was queen.

Though the woman made it clear that we were quests and that she was the older woman deserving respect, Massie still had an air of a ruler, and she respected that.

"Massie, how wonderful to see you, Darling. And these must be your lovely friends you were mentioning before the summer. Dylan and Claire, right?" she smiled wide and friendly, though it felt more like she had to be nice than she was really good natured.

"Yes, my very best friends. They're from America. We used to live in the same place, Westchester, in New York. And I am here to get them some uniforms, I already got mine over the summer, but Dylan and Claire need theirs. And I thought you should get them fitted, you are the expert, Mrs. Angelica," Massie's flattery quickly made Angelica smile even wider.

"Call me, Angelica," Angelica smiled at us all, "Now what do you guys need?"

"The works," Massie answered for us, "Pants, shirts, dresses, even shoes really."

I could almost see Angelica counting up the price in her head, and I doubted she was holding back.

"Great, I'll just need to get the two of you fitted. Then we can start picking things out," Angelica smiled.

"I will leave you guys to it, I need to go pick something up now that we're in town."

"Of course, we can call you when we're done."

Massie tried not to seem thankful to stop smoozing.

"Sounds wonderful. Good luck, girls."

"I have to get going, too, Mom," Felicia took another look at Massie's outfit as if committing it to memory, "Ellen and I are going shopping."

"Goodbye, Dear."

Massie and Felicia both walked out of the store, and we were left alone to get fitted.

_**Massie,**_

As I walked out of the store, I watched out of the corner of my eye as Felicia took out her cell phone and talked loudly to make sure everyone in the nearby area knew she was calling her driver, Felipe, and not one of the local cab services.

Felicia was a sweet girl, probably one of my biggest fans. She did everything to be like me and had ever since I moved here. But I had never quite been able to get along that well with wannabes, and Felicia fit that description perfectly.

Then again, I had also liked Dmitri, and there wasn't much sibling love between the two of them.

Dmitri thought she was a dumb wannabe who hadn't had an intelligent thought from the day she was born, and Felicia thought he was an ungrateful idiot who was giving up a title, business, and an ancient estate passed down through generations for writing and Greece.

You had to pick a side, and I had picked Dmitri's side, though he was rarely here.

But he and James were old friends.

They met when they were just little kids, going to the KISS soccer camp one summer for two weeks. After sharing a room for two weeks, they were best friends for life, and they would stand up for each other any time.

James was like that with all of his friends, and it was funny to see them all together.

Some of his friends I hadn't liked (like his friend, Gale, who had been trying to get in my pants since I first moved to England). Others, I adored (like Dmitri).

Another wave of sadness hit me as I realized I wouldn't get to see his friends anymore. I wouldn't get to watch them laugh and kid around with each other. I wouldn't hear the old stories they tell to embarrass the other. I wouldn't hear their favorite sentence they used to end a story about James, "And you, Massie, somehow ended up crazy enough to date this guy."

I wondered what it would feel like to see them all at their lunch table again, laughing together loudly, and not be able to join in or even know what they were laughing about.

Something hit me full force, but I couldn't tell if it was sadness for losing James or anger for him leaving me like that.

But, whatever it was, it got me to walk faster to the local tea shop aimed towards the local KISS students who wanted to take a breather off campus. Since it was the day everyone would be going into London to pick up last minute things for the KISS in the Dark party, Colton picked it to meet me.

I wasn't sure it this meant he had my answer or if he needed more information about my usual hideaways with James.

But I was going to meet him anyway.

I was too desperate to find this out to anything other than go.

I ruffled my brown hair, which was blown out in curls today, as I walked towards the tea shop.

Over the summer, I had molded my look after Audrey Hepburn. My hair was usually in a bun or in a sleek ponytail. I wore little black dresses with the occasional colorful necklace or scarf to add color. My make-up was serious, and I paraded around France with the sultry air of Audrey herself.

Now, I wanted to be a little more fun and a little hotter to make James regret his choices.

I was wearing a purple V-Neck tee shirt with layered necklaces. A grey boyfriend sweater had been altered to show my curves, and I boasted a pair of black shorts to show off my legs. And I left my collection of boots for a pair of gladiator sandals.

As I caught my reflection in the window, I realized how much I had changed in looks from my middle school years.

James had been a big part of that. He didn't like me being so "bony" and happened to have a thing for curvy girls, though he wouldn't tell me the last part. So I stopped obsessing with my weight so much and became a curvier, bigger-cup-size, and healthier size six. I grew taller as I got older, and I started dressing a little younger.

I tried not to think about James as I came into the tea shop, and I scanned the room for Clayton.

Not here.

I frowned, and I walked towards the register to order a cup of tea.

The tea shop had once been a little place where you sat down for brunch and chatted over crumpets. But it had gone under new management, and it basically turned into a Starbucks.

But we all loved it more.

I adored a cup of tea, and I was debating whether to get a muffin or a chocolate cupcake. I was the only one in line, so I didn't think much of it. I heard the bell ring with the door opening, but I didn't pay much attention to it.

"Go for the chocolate," someone said from behind me.

My spine stiffened, and my jaw dropped.

Eh.

Ma.

_Gawd._

James.

James Winthrop.

The boy I had been in love with since I was in eighth grade. My first love. My first time. Just about my first everything.

My first real heartbreak.

_James…_

Sir James Winthrop II was right behind me.

He was so close that I could hear his breathing, and I could almost feel the heat against my neck. I could smell his cologne, the sweet but masculine scent I had always adored…

I slowly found myself looking back to him, and, even though I knew it was him, I couldn't help but still be shocked…

I knew he was here, _everyone_ did. I heard his voice behind me. I knew I would run into him one day. But that was all different from _seeing _him here and now instead of who-knows-where and who-knows-when.

"James," I looked at him, wide-eyed.

"Hey, Mass," he smiled, though it didn't seem complete. It was scared, awkward, and it didn't come with a kiss. All of that felt foreign to the two of us…

I wasn't sure what to say or what to do.

Should I cry and declare I missed him? Yell and scream at him for hurting me like that? Blow him off like I was an ex and didn't care about him? Or demand to know where he had been?

I wasn't sure, so I just stood there paralyzed and awkward like an idiot.

Finally, my mouth seemed to work again, but not too well.

"So you really are back."

"Got back last week. I hear everyone has been talking about it."

I just stared, unable to believe this was us.

After a summer apart like this, we would have been all over each other. By now, we would already be somewhere (anywhere) where no one could see us, and I would have already lost at least one of the layers of my outfit, even if it was only my jacket.

But we were just here.

Looking at the each other in awe, like a dream.

I suddenly realized just how over it was, and it ached inside me.

I could feel our break-up crash down on me again, and it almost smothered me. I needed relief, whatever it was, but it was a pain I was addicted to. I just kept looking at James and not moving, making it worse.

My thoughts were jumbled.

I wondered who would pick my side and who I would lose to his side. I wondered how I could handle seeing him every day at school. I wondered where he was. I wondered who he would date next. I wondered which girls I would have to watch throw themselves at him. There were too many questions and not enough answers.

James's lips formed a weak smile.

"You can say hello, Massie."

_No, I couldn't…_

Suddenly, the bell telling us that the door had opened rang, and I heard a familiar voice that I had never been so happy to hear.

"Hey, Mass, stop flirting. You can try to shag that guy later. If you're going to try to shag anyone, it better be me," Clayton smirked, and, when I would have felt annoyance and anger at that sentence and his presence, I felt a wave of relief spread through me.

James span around to look at Clayton, and his eyes were wide.

James and Clayton had never really liked each other. Most everyone adored James, and James usually liked people. But James and Clayton, just as Clayton and I, had an understanding not to mess with each other. While Clayton and I were never partial to each other, they actually didn't get along but didn't want to start a World War III.

James looked back to me, silently asking if I was actually meeting him here or if it was a coincidence.

Clayton was just as shocked, looking at me as if to ask if I had found out anything or not.

I quickly handed over the money for my tea, ignoring the question over which cupcake, and I didn't wait for the change as I grabbed my steaming cup. As fast as I could, I walked away from James, and I went over to Clayton, grabbing his hand partially to make James jealous and partially to snap him of out of his shock.

I didn't say anything, I just grabbed on to Clayton's hand, and I pulled him out of the tea shop, walking as fast out of there as I could. I didn't stop walking fast either, I wanted to be out of sight. I wanted to be as far as I could.

"Slow down, Massie. God, you'll break my bloody wrist if you hold on any tighter."

I let go of his hand, and I stopped in the middle of the empty sidewalk.

No one was around, and no one would be around today. Not when they should be shopping for the KISS in the Dark party.

"You need to calm down, come here," Clayton walked to his car that was parked beside us, and he motioned for me to follow.

I stayed put.

I knew what happened in that car, and I didn't like the way he said I needed to calm down. I would have given him a hard time about getting in, but I didn't want to be out here when James got back. And I knew I was in no condition to drive and especially not to sit around with Felicia's mother. I got into Clayton's jaguar, and, though I was happy about the tinted windows at the moment, I did my best not to think of why he needed them.

Clayton reached inside his pocket and brought out a flask, handing it to me.

"Drink up, you need it."

Again, I wouldn't have done this regularly, especially when I needed to drive my friends home, but this was not a regular moment.

I took a long swig of what I found to be whiskey, and I handed it over to Clayton, who took a smaller drink before he turned on the car.

"Need me to drive you home?"

"I need to drive Claire and Dylan home."

"I can have someone pick them up and get your car back to the house. You don't look like you need to be driving."

Once more, I would have done things differently any other day, but I didn't.

"Esmeralda is going into town for groceries later, I can have her drive Andrew over or something to drive the girls back. They don't know how to drive the way we do," I swallowed heavily, and my hands were shaky as I took a drink from my hot tea.

Today didn't make any sense.

Firstly, Clayton was being nice, a friend actually. He was helping me track down my ex, and he even met to help me today. When I had a meltdown after seeing my ex, he got me in his car, gave me a strong drink, and offered to drive me home, reminding me that I was in no condition to drive, especially my with my friends.

Then there was James, and he fit in to everything else that didn't make sense.

He was back with no sign of where he had been than a tan and longer hair. He was the same but different. We weren't all over each other. We were awkward. I didn't know what to say to him. He made me angry and sad and confused and every feeling I hated, but he also made my heart stop, my brain stop working, and even my memories churning out again.

Everywhere I looked, I saw him. I saw us walking down the street holding hands. As Clayton drove past stores, I saw us shopping for uniforms. On the road, I could see us driving in his vintage jaguar, laughing and carrying on. One field we drove past reminded me of a crazy idea for make-up sex in a field. The houses reminded me of friends we went to see. The road to his house reminded me of so many times going to go see him or meeting with his family. And the road to my house was pure hell to remember us.

Suddenly, I found myself wondering about my choice not to stay with my mom in Paris this semester.

_And school hadn't even started yet…_

As Clayton kept driving towards the Block Castle, I guess I could have asked him a lot. Most would have asked how he knew where I lived (which was pretty easy with all the parties I gave). Why he was helping me now or even why he was helping me with James. But that wasn't really what I wanted to know.

"Are we friends now?"

Clayton looked back to me with a small smile before turning his eyes back to the road.

"Why do you ask?"

"We've kind of gone through the bonding stuff. You know, tracking down an ex. Both being mad at an ex, a big plus. Knowing when I need a drink. Driving me home. On paper, we are kind of friends."

"I thought we had an unwritten rule about that."

"Being friends?"

Clayton nodded.

"Well, my unwritten rule was to not mess with you as long as you didn't mess with me. It was more of a protection thing," I shrugged, keeping my eyes on him, "We can be friends."

Clayton shrugged, and I just kept looking.

"So are we?"

"Sure, we're friends."

He took a turn.

"I didn't really know you could be like this."

Clayton peaked at me.

"A driver?" he smirked.

"No," I rolled my eyes, "_Nice_. Most of what I hear involves hacking, screwing around, or just being a smartass."

"I am a smartass, I will give the rumors that."

"What about the rest of it?"

"Ehhh," Clayton shrugged, "Pretty true."

But he was also nice and a pretty decent human being, and I had to admit he was a great friend…

"What about you? Most of what I hear involves trendsetting, parties, dominance, and now scandalous break-ups."

"True, true, true, and, sadly, _true_."

"So GossipGirl is right about us? Pretty pissy, eh?"

"Have you found her?"

"Nope. I'm starting to think she might of hid your boyfriend. Not a trace of either."

_**Claire,**_

**Sorry, had to get home. Friend drove me. Sending Andrew to pick you up. Let me know when u finish.**

**-Massie**

I kept reading over the message as I sat in Massie's convertible, the trunk filled with bags, and Dylan read it off my shoulder.

When Massie left us with Felicia's mother, we didn't think she would be back long. We thought she would show up with a donut for all of us or something and sip on her tea as we finished up, and I particularly thought she would be there to begin our shopping for what we would be wearing the rest of the year. But it wasn't long after she left that we got a text from Massie.

"Had to get home" kept haunting me.

I doubted Esmeralda had an emergency and needed Massie to get back, and her dad was at work and her mother in Paris. There was no one to call her home, which meant something happened that made her want to go home.

I looked back to Dylan, who was still studying the message.

This wouldn't have usually called any alarm. School was about to start, and the KISS in the Dark party was soon. Everyone was scattered and needed to run urgent errands, and the queen of the school would have even more to do.

But Massie had been disappearing now and again, and it was right after a devastating break-up that left her and the rest of KISS in shock. Even more, the ex was back in town, and everyone was worried for her as to how she was taking it, especially us.

After her sobs with Dylan, she seemed to pull herself together and try to forget about his presence, but she couldn't avoid it forever.

I was about to bring that up to Dylan when both of our phone buzzed with a new alert.

A new GossipGirl post.

I hesitantly opened the alert and read the new message.

**Good morning, lovely KISS students, and welcome to the mad dash to prepare for KISS in the Dark. All morning, I have seen you scurrying around buying last minute accessories and double checking everything. Usually, this is my day off in preparation for the most scandalous day of the year, but it seems someone decided to start it off early.**

**It started off normal for Massie. She dropped off her friends to get their uniforms and went for tea. And, instead of a cupcake, Massie got boy drama with her hot cup of jasmine.**

**First showing up is her infamous ex, James, the one we've all been in love with since we were twelve years old. There was an awkward little confrontation that feels foreign to their usual steamy hellos. But things got even crazier when our favorite bad boy, Clayton, rescued Little Miss Queen Bee!**

**Seen leaving the tea shop together holding hands, they quickly made their way to Clayton's car (oh yes, the **_**infamous **_**car), and, instead of taking her own car, Massie drove off into the sunset with Clayton.**

**We were all wondering how Massie handled the break-up and how she would handle James being back, but it seems like Massie has her eyes on someone else. Or is she just trying to get James jealous?**

**XOXO,**

**GossipGirl**

Attached were pictures of Massie and James standing in front of each other at the tea shop, a picture from when James and Massie were all over each other after a spring break apart (which GG dated at the bottom to remind us it was a while back), Massie holding Clayton's hand, and them both in the car.

My eyes were wide, and Dylan's green eyes shot over to me.

"Who is Clayton?"

Massie had never mentioned _anyone_ by the name of Clayton, and I desperately didn't want to know what kind of things happened in the _infamous car_. Was he what she needed to "pick-up" while she was in town? Was it her plan to leave us, or was it because she saw James?

My anger for her not telling us about Clayton was replaced for sympathy to my best friend.

Massie always had everything taken care of, she was always two steps ahead of the competition, and she could beat _anything_. Even more, she absolutely never, _ever _lost her cool. That was what made her such a great alpha.

But Massie hadn't been able to use her usual Massie-Methods and fake a smile, push past it, and land something a million times better. Her break-up with James was different than anything she had ever been through before. She didn't know how to start, what to do, or even what end result she wanted.

Massie was in uncharted waters.

And none of us really knew how to help.

We had all been through break-ups of some sort, but it wasn't like this. She had a combination of the worsts. He left her with no warning and no clue as to his whereabouts. He didn't give her any reason for leaving, he just left. He kept in touch with no one while gone, and he suddenly reappeared with just as little warning. And, to top it all off, she found out he was back through GossipGirl…

I was about to send a text to Massie when the car began to get closer towards Block Castle.

I straightened my spine, and I put my cell phone back in my pocket, prepared to run into the castle and find her.

The car lurched to a stop, and Andrew got out of the car, about to open our doors for us as it was very gentlemanly-like to do. But we were already out the car and heading into the castle before he could even try.

"Sorry, got to find Massie!"

"I'll take your bags to your rooms," he said as we were opening the grand front door and running towards Massie's room.

It was a pretty good work out to have to run just to Massie's room, and I didn't dare try to run through the entire castle. There were wings I hadn't even explored, and I doubted I ever would.

"Mass?" I yelled out, and we were still going up the stairs.

"Claire? You're back early. I thought you were going to Cam's."

We both stopped on the stairs, and we were down in the blink of an eye, running off to the kitchen.

And there she was.

Sitting at the kitchen table and holding her warm cup of tea, she looked at us blankly. Her curls were in a ponytail, and she had put on a long grey coat she typically wore in the winter when she was getting off the plane to Westchester to see us. Her feet were bare and put up on a chair across from her. Massie looked calm and collected, like she was just at home with a cup of tea after a day of shopping.

And then there was the guy sitting beside her.

It was the guy from the pictures, Clayton.

His hair was blonde and spiky, sand you could tell he took a while with it this morning. His eyes were green like the _Emerald City_ tee shirt he was wearing. To match the childish Wizard of Oz tee shirt, he had on a pair of expensive jeans and even more expensive sneakers. His laptop was open, and his fingers were poised on the key. Instead of a cup of tea, he had a soda from the fridge, and I was pretty sure I saw a flask in his pocket.

Dylan and I stared at them, and they stared at us.

"So…hi," Dylan's eyes shifted to Massie, "And who is the guy?"

"Oh right, this is Clayton. Clayton, these are my friends, Claire and Dylan."

He let out a weak wave, and Massie looked back to us blankly, trying to hide it.

"The guy that GossipGirl thinks you're dating?"

Now Massie lost her cool exterior and raised her eyebrows.

"She _what_?"

"Check your phone."

Massie reached for her purse on the table and searched for her cell phone, which she quickly brought out and typed in something to a web browser. Her jaw dropped, and she settled into her seat, her brown eyes widening.

As Clayton watched Massie's reaction, he typed on his laptop, and his eyes widened.

"Holy-"

Massie, anticipating what he was going to say, kicked him.

"Ow, what the-"

"Shh," she put a hand up to him.

"God, what the hell do you girls all think about my car?" Clayton looked back to Massie, but she was engrossed with her cell phone.

He went back to reading the page.

"Oh no, I am worth _much_ more than just getting James jealous. I mean, girls fight over me," Clayton began to complain, and Massie rolled her eyes.

I looked back to Massie, and I was starting to get annoyed at how I still knew nothing about what just happened.

"So, are you two dating?"

Clayton stopped ranting to stare at me.

"No, we aren't."

"You don't have to sound so happy about that."

Massie rolled her eyes.

"Didn't you just say that girls _fought_ over you? You don't even need to think of me."

"Yeah, but it isn't exactly a great confidence booster to say stuff like that. If we are going to give this friendship thing a try here, you need to put in the effort, okay? And friends do nice things. They give each other compliments. They built up their confidence. Like this, alright? Massie, you look very pretty today. See, you feel better about yourself. You are happy to have a friend. Now, you give it a try."

"Clayton, you are very pretty today, too," Massie patted his hand, and Clayton stuck out his tongue.

"Well, now that we know that you both look very pretty," Dylan crossed her arms, "Can someone tell me what's going on here?"

* * *

_**So Massie sees James again. Rumors are around that Massie and Clayton are together, and we got some good old bickering in there, too. Sorry it took so long to update.**_


	7. Getting Ready for the Party of the Year

_**Massie,**_

When it came to big events, the girls of the Clique had always had our rituals. A recent GLU sleepover involving favorite snacks, romantic comedies, and vanilla scented candles to discuss their outfits. Shopping together. A meeting before the event to approve outfits, and a big blowout to get ready together.

I had always loved it.

It was a tradition, and it always brought us closer together (no drama could pile up from picking out the right shoes like in other situations). It made the event somehow more enjoyable, and it also gave you time with your friends if you had a date and wanted to spend your time with him.

At any of the other KISS events, I would have done this with the girls. We would have cheated on our diets with gummy worms as we helped the other get ready, and we would have been laughing as we got into the limo.

It would have been a girl's party, which is what I needed after the James incident.

But this wasn't _any_ KISS event.

This was the KISS in the Dark party.

And nothing was normal about this.

Whereas it would have been a crime not to have a killer designer label on your dress tag in New York, it would have been a crime to have one. You got your dress made or altered so that only _you_ could ever have one. Only the scholarship girls wore bought dresses, but they at least had the burden of the designer label off of them. If it looked good, it didn't matter if it was H&M or not.

So, we couldn't go shopping for our dress. Mine had been designed by my mother for her new soon-to-be opened fashion line, and I had it altered this summer. It had been like an old wedding gown, though I personally thought of it as Glinda from the Wizard of Oz. There had been a plunging neckline with sleeves being lace. It was glittery and big. But, after my break-up, I didn't want to be soft and sweet anymore.

So my dress was changed. The lace was made black, and it was semi ripped when it came to the black tissue. She called it her new masterpiece and added it to the collection. My mother let me borrow her large diamond and sapphire necklace, and my shoes were to die for.

We couldn't really go shopping for dresses for Claire and Dylan. Their dresses had come in last week, and it was just up to alterations after that.

We didn't need to have a meeting for outfit approval, it was a little late if we didn't.

And this was a little too important to have a blow out to get ready.

Nothing about Friday was normal really.

We slept in, which is uncommon for Esmeralda as she spent the last two weeks before school getting me up early to get us up early. We got up to a delicious breakfast that I was sure wouldn't cause bloating. We talked over breakfast with Esmeralda reminding us not to get too carried away tonight or to touch anything alcoholic tonight, something I knew I would ignore. But we smiled politely and told her we would listen.

After breakfast, I went and took a long bath with Claire saying she was going to call Cam to make sure the time they would meet and Dylan saying she would check up on "work" back home.

As I was relaxing into the scent of lilac, I decided to let it happen and let in all of the memories of this day, and one kept popping up from two years ago.

_I looked at myself in the mirror, convinced there was something I needed._

_The KISS in the Dark party was going to start soon, and I was ready otherwise. My hair was curled perfectly, and I was wearing a lilac, flowy Grecian gown. I looked like a goddess, and that had been my intention. This was my first KISS in the Dark party, my chance to cement my title as ruler._

_I had spent the last few months with family in New York, visiting the PC, and I spent the other half roaming around Europe with my parents and meeting up with friends along the way. What time I had in London was spent with James, and I hadn't done nearly enough to make sure I would really be queen of KISS this year._

_It was said that this was _the_ party. Either you made it or you didn't._

_I had done everything in my power to make sure I did. My dress was different from everyone else, I did everything to look better, I knew what to say, what to avoid, and had James on my arm to help me through it all. This was going to be it._

_No more trying to make sure I held on to it. No more parties all the time. No more creating things to get on GossipGirl with, and, if I was lucky, no more sucking up to Royals. If I landed this, I would be home free at least until next year._

"_Well, it would be it, if I could figure out what I needed," I mumbled, trying to find it._

_Beautiful headdress? Check. Diamond earrings? Check. Charm bracelet? Check. Cell phone and cute matching bag? Check._

_Everything was here and accounted for._

_I moved away from the mirror to the table where I had dumped out my bracelets to find my charm bracelet, and I began to rummage through to see if I could find the perfect thing when I suddenly felt someone's arms wrapped tight around me and a peck on my cheek._

"_You look beautiful, Massie," James's sweet British accent ran through my body and left a cool relax feeling inside me._

_Gods, I loved his voice._

"_What are you doing up here? You're supposed to be downstairs and gasp when you see the dress."_

"_Right, I was going to ask about that. What kind of gasp? Like shocked gasp? Or 'I-Want-You-Let's-Slip-Away-When-No-One-Is-Looking ' gasp?" James laughed, and I couldn't help but laugh, too._

"_Depends. Do you want to be a corpse when Andrew looks over and sees your face?"_

_He let out an adorable chuckle and kissed the nape of my neck while letting go of me._

"_Now, get downstairs, before you see the rest of the dress."_

"_You're kidding?"_

"_No, go."_

"_This is a joke, right?"_

"_No, James."_

"_I've seen your dress already. I don't need to go down."_

_I was about to tell him to get out or I would tell Esmeralda about the "I-Want-You" gasp that would land him in lectures for hours and supervised dates for about a month. But then James smiled wide._

"_How I could I give you your gift?" James brought out a box, and my eyes widened._

How did I get him? I wondered_, _Some of my last boyfriends would have been running late and would have let out a small, "You look amazing" compliment before we got in the car with friends. I have a guy who got the car to ourselves, makes me actually feel amazing, and even got me a gift.

"_And don't worry about it not matching and feeling obligated to wear it. Your mom, who knew about your dress, helped me out."_

_I smiled even wider._

_Now I didn't care what it was. If it was from James, I wanted it._

_He handed me the box, and I gasped as I looked at it, exactly what I needed._

"_James, it's perfect," I smiled, and I wrapped him up in a big hug, kissing his neck and telling him thank you about a million times._

_He pulled me close, almost unbearably tight. His face was just inches from mine, and I looked into his beautiful big blue eyes I adored. There was nothing more I could name than looking into his eyes. It was just how much I loved him, how much he loved me, and how we could be spitting fire but still show that in our eyes._

_Any other guy, especially now, I would have never let him kiss me. I wouldn't have messed up my make-up or anything like that for him._

_But it was James, and I did._

_As I pulled away, I wiped the lipstick off his neck and his lips, smiling at him._

"_Alright, now I will go back downstairs," he kissed my cheek._

"_And remember to gasp," I smiled as he walked towards the door._

"_Got it, Mass."_

I closed my eyes, stuck on our first KISS in the Dark party. We were freshman, and we still weren't able to take the Jag (our form of transportation for everything after James was old enough to drive) to the party. We took the towncar, and we were just…

Young, I guess.

James made me a freshman, not a trendy twenty year old stuck in a teenager's body. He made me sing to the top of my lungs and embarrass myself. He made me dance though I didn't even really like to dance. Being with James was like being with my friends.

No, it was being with my friends because he was my best friend. My best friend in the entire world.

Suddenly, unable to take it any longer, I quickly stood out of the sudsy tub, and I let the water drain out as I grabbed my robe.

When I came out, my room was just as it should have been. My dress was in a bag lying on my bed. A glass of Champaign, courtesy of my father and most certainly not Esmeralda, was sitting on my dresser next to the jewelry box with a note in my mother's handwriting. The air was filled with the scent of lilac, and my doors to my balcony were opened, letting in the sweet summer breeze.

But things felt wrong.

It felt like it should have been two years ago. Accessories should be all over tables. Last minute make-up everywhere. And my dress was to be hung up by my mother with the headdress, and my mom should have left repeated notes to mess up my hair.

I slid into a pair of shorts and a button up blouse, and I went out on the balcony, pulling myself to sit on the railing, and I tried to imagine myself not being with him tonight.

Walking through the door alone. Smiling for the camera alone, and I tried to imagine just how hard it would be to show my strength and show I was still their queen, even if I no longer had a king.

It wasn't the pain of it. It was showing the pain I was worried about.

Would they be able to see it? Would I ruin my chance to reclaim my throne?

_Why risk it?_ I asked myself, and I took out my cell phone.

_**Claire,**_

"So, are you ready for tonight?" I asked smiling, talking loudly into the speakerphone as I painted my nails blue for tonight.

This morning had been absolutely great.

We slept in, which was a miracle when it came to Esmeralda. Breakfast was lavish, amazing, and wouldn't cause any bloating for tonight. I got to hang out, watch some TV ,and even start painting my nails. It was a peaceful day I needed.

No To-Do Lists. Or at least not yet.

I still had time before that all would start.

"Yeah, I guess. I just need to take a shower. What about you?" Cam asked, and I smiled to myself.

"A while to go, I guess. We still have to do hair and stuff like that," I blew on my nails, and I closed the top to the nail polish, leaning back on the carpet.

I wondered what I would be doing at home right now. Katy's party should be soon, maybe even tonight. If it was, I would be starting on my hair and calling to make sure that Cam knew the time to come and pick me up. And I would be IMing Massie to check on her.

"Hey, Payne," Cam said in the phone.

I froze, and chills ran up my spine as I thought of Payne.

I saw a lot hot guys. I talked to a lot of them. And I was usually being introduced to them by my friends with them either saying they wanted me to date someone other than Cam or that they were currently dating them.

But Payne…

Payne was a different kinda hot. He was gorgeous enough to make shivers run down your spine when you saw him. He had an adorable little British accent and used it to be a little sweetheart.

I could have handled this, I suppose. I could have pushed it off like I usually can, but he was everywhere. He was my boyfriend's roommate, my roommate's _best friend_!

This is wrong, just wrong.

"Who are you talking to?" I heard his voice faintly.

"Claire."

"Oh, hey, Claire," Peyton's voice was louder, loud enough where he knew I could hear him.

"Hey, let me put it on speakerphone, Claire. Payne wants to say hi."

I picked up my phone, holding it close to me.

"Hey, Claire."

"Oh, hey, Payne. Are you going tonight?"

I knew the answer.

_No one_ missed.

Especially not this year.

It was the first time people would see Massie and James together since it happened.

"Yeah."

_Do you have a date?_ I wanted to ask, but I didn't.

He answered for me though.

"I didn't get home early enough to get a date, so you two will probably be stuck with me."

I let out a friendly laugh, just like Cam.

"Hey, maybe we could set him up with Dylan. She and that actor broke up, right?"

I didn't say anything about setting them up, I answered the last part.

"Yeah, they split."

"I've known you a week, and you're already setting me up. This year oughta be fun."

"You'll love us," I smirked.

"Come on, everybody loves Claire," Cam smirked.

"Hey, I gotta go, Cam. Uh," I tried to quickly think of an excuse, "I need to go check on Massie. It shouldn't be long until we need to start getting ready."

"Bye, Caty-Claire. See you tonight."

"Don't call me Caty-Claire, Cameron," I smiled, and I hung up the phone, leaning back. I took a long deep breath, and I just stayed there, reaching for my phone again.

I typed in Layne's number. We hadn't spoken much since I got here, and I wasn't really sure why. I just felt… uncomfortable I guess. Especially talking about Cam.

When had they gotten so close?

They had always been friends, but now they were closer than we were. She knew more about him than I seemed to, and he knew more about her than I seemed to. It was worrying to say the least, but I wasn't sure in what way.

It just wasn't right.

I still wasn't over the fact that he knew she wasn't over a break-up and I didn't.

The phone call was accepted on the third ring, and I heard the faint sound of guitars in the background.

"Hey, Caty-Claire."

"Will everyone stop calling me Caty-Claire?" I moaned, "By the way, where are you?"

"Music room."

"You're going tonight, right?" I asked, realizing it had never dawned on me to even question that.

KISS in the Dark, from what I knew, was basically mandatory. It didn't matter what clique you were in, what grade you were in, or even what Royal-Lineage you had. You just came. Not only did you come, but you came prepared. Beautiful dresses for the girls and handsome suits for the boys. And you came ready to see the drama.

If anything, it was just compulsive to see KISS history in the making, and everyone was especially waiting to see Massie.

I knew that while Layne and Massie had made terms with each other, Layne was human and still wanted to see the perfect Massie break down. Everyone did. Whether you hated or loved her, it was like something supernatural to see Massie break down.

Honestly, until recently, I hadn't truly seen her break down. I had never seen her hit true rock bottom. But now I had, and I hoped never to again.

"Yeah, no date though. Well there goes my usual tradition of a good snogging during the darkness."

Snogging.

It took me a minute to translate into American.

Kissing.

"You can still find someone to snog."

"Not the same."

I rolled my eyes.

"So," I found myself bringing it up without even realizing it, "Cam thinks we should set Payne up with Dylan."

"Really? That's a pretty good idea, at least for tonight."

"You think so?"

"You don't?"

"I don't know," I tried to backpedal out of this situation, "Dylan is still on edge about her last boyfriends. I don't think she is into dating right now."

"Payne's hot enough to make any girl want to start dating."

"Are you into him?"

"Me?" Layne seemed to think about it.

I hated that pause.

"No, not really. I'd love to shag him, but I don't think I'd want to date him. I like boys with a little more edge. And they at least have to be able to play an instrument."

I did my best not to let out a sigh of relief.

_**Dylan,**_

The party of the year loomed close ahead, and there didn't seem to be enough to do to fill the time. At least for Massie…

Massie was zooming about from place to place, making sure everything was ready.

First, that the car was ready downstairs. Check. Then that we had the number for when we would need to go home. Check. That we had our accessories and other such things ready to put on so we wouldn't have to search later. Check. And the list kept getting longer, getting checked off before Massie finally sat down in the chair and let her stylist on a house call get started on her.

While they started on Massie, they were finishing with me and had finished with Claire.

My hair was silky and wavy, reminding me of Jessica Rabbit's, especially with the diamond pin holding it back. My dress was definitely not America's Little Sweet Heart, which made me love it more. It was a deep maroon and fit me perfectly on the top with one strap holding it up. The bottom became more of a ball gown, as was needed for the event, but it still remained sexy.

_Sexy,_ that was my new image I realized.

Tonight, you set your image.

Massie was queen.

Claire would be sweet.

And I would be sexy.

I had to admit that I liked the change.

I was helped getting into my dress, and I was left alone to finish last minute touches. I reapplied my red lipstick, reapplied some mascara, and I put on my bracelets. But my mind was more on tonight than anything else.

Starting tonight, I am a KISS student. This is real. I live in England. I am sexy. And I am determined to take England by storm.

Suddenly, those doors that had seemed closed (such as dating) seemed open again. Maybe sexy British Dylan could find a guy, though American Dylan would probably still stop her from theater guys. Maybe, just maybe, I could find my little British Hawtie.

I let out a big smile, and I turned back out of my room to find Massie and Claire.

When I got to the hallway, I found Claire also finished.

She was exactly what I thought.

Her thin frame was complimented by a beautiful light blue dress with a slightly darker blue design that was regal and mature. Her hair was down in curls, two thick stands out of her eyes with a blue pin in the back. And her make-up was light, innocent, and beautiful.

I smiled at Claire.

"Wow, you look," she looked to my curves, and a big smile plastered on her lips, "Hot!"

"You look beautiful!" I smiled back at her.

And now for Massie…

Claire and I seemed to be thinking the same thing as we both started for the double doors to her bedroom.

Claire knocked gently.

"Come in."

Massie's voice sounded… more regal. More subdued, ready to be bombarded with questions of James and snide comments about how it must be so hard for her. And it was definitely stronger.

As we opened the door, I almost felt like a little kid, jittery to see a gift from my mother after a long trip. I wanted to see my friend's dress. No, I wanted to see who my best friend would be this year. What she was going after.

And then I saw it.

With Esmeralda zipping her up, Massie's amber eyes were placidly on her reflection, peaceful but prepared for war. Her eyes looked over to us calmly, and, though I had known her forever, I was still shocked by her beauty.

Everything about her seemed perfect today. Her hair was in a complicated half-up half-down hair-do that required a perfect small bun, perfect wavy curls, and a few braids to hold it in place. Her delicate neck held a stunning sapphire necklace, and her dress was to die-for.

It was a queen's but with an edgy twist.

And it said everything she wanted to say.

She wasn't letting her kingdom go without a fight.

"What do you guys think?"

"Perfect," I smiled, going over to sit on her bed.

"Amazing," Claire sat on a nearby couch.

"Thanks," Massie let out a big smile, the kind of smile you get when you're nervous.

"There you go, all done. You look perfect, baby," Esmeralda smiled at Massie, and Massie hugged her gently before Esmeralda left.

As soon as she did, Massie started walking towards us, and she let out an ungraceful, sighing thud in her big dress as she collapsed onto the bed beside me, careful not to mess up her hair.

Massie opened her mouth to say something, but our cell phones all chiming stopped her before she could.

Massie let out a big moan as she reached for her phone, and I quickly did the same.

It was a post from GossipGirl.

**Don't get in your limos and ride off into the sunset yet, boys and girls. I need to remind you just what tonight is.**

**Be Cinderella. Show up in the best dress, dance with the best boy, and upstage the wicked step-mother. But don't forget that your little fantasy can end at midnight. As soon as that clock chimes and those lights flicker off, don't assume that everything will be just peachy and you'll resume dancing the night away with the prince while your pumpkin carriage waits outside.**

**The fairy tale doesn't last forever, and I'll be your happy little hangover the next morning to remind you all of your fun.**

**But, for some, it won't be fun tonight. For some, the fairy tale has already ended, and the King we all lust after is finally back on the market, meaning we don't all have to hit on his prince.**

**Have fun, and I support you in your little endeavors. Just remember not to get on the wrong bad side, and I don't mean mine. Word is that our little Queen is taking care of old business, but that doesn't mean she won't take down any new revolts.**

**Now go out there, and let's just see if you survive KISS in the Dark…**

**XOXO,**

**Gossip Girl**

I could basically feel Massie's eyes glued to the line "and the prince we all lust after is finally back on the market" and she didn't try to hide it. But she also couldn't hide her contempt for how GG had said she was taking care of old business but wouldn't let anything go unnoticed in her kingdom, though Massie had really wanted that to happen.

But she couldn't keep it in.

She had to let some of her opinion out, and she searched for the nicest.

"His prince, I guess she means Payne…"

But she was holding a whole lot more than observations and explanations as to who she was referring.

Finally, we both noticed Claire, who was beginning to shake.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just getting a little nervous," Claire bit on her lower lip nervously.

"Don't be. She always tries to scare people before the party. It'll really be fine."

I was worried Massie was just comforting her.

"Come on, we'll be fine. For crying out loud, Layne usually latches on to a random guy and snogs him during the blackout, and no big scandal comes from that other than a few little laughs and shakes of the head," Massie smiled reassuringly.

"Yeah, we'll be great."

"Come on, it's about time to get ready to go," Massie stood, and she reached for a gorgeous but comfortable pair of shoes. As she slid her foot in, she straightened her dress, and she smiled at us before we started towards the door.

The three of us laughed and talked as we climbed down the stairs, and Massie pursed her lips.

"By the way," Massie brushed her dress like she was looking for lint, "I have a little something to tell you."

_**Next chapter is the big party.**_


	8. KISS in the Dark Party

_**Massie,**_

This KISS in the Dark party was supposed to make a big splash. It was the moment when splashes went from your summer vacation poolside to your dramatic school days with your cell phone. It was when you went from flirty dresses and shorts to hide your string bikini to classy beautiful dresses. It was when your golden highlights were reverted to serious and alluring lowlights. It was when the henna tattoos were washed off and replaced with name cards for their first day at KISS. It was when your too-short party dress was traded in for your debutante gown.

It was by definition dramatic, but this year had reached an all-time drama high.

For decades, this party had started controversy, but this was the first time that it was a controversy coming into the party.

The Royal Couple of KISS had broken up in a dramatic and mysterious fashion, and James had run away on his private jet for the summer. Then he suddenly returned, his first public appearance being the KISS ball. And everyone was wondering if we would hold up to our tradition of locking arms tightly in preparation for the lights to go out and kissing when no one could see, the only proof being the lipstick left on his lips that I would lovingly wipe off with a smile.

Everyone noticed it, they didn't say anything. It was never reported on. It just happened.

And it would never happen again.

Tonight, was the night to prove that.

But it wasn't just that waiting on me tonight.

My kingdom was holding on by a thread, my strength question. Frailty from a broken heart was suggested, and no one had seen me to check the suspicions. My stature was threatening to shrink back into oblivion, sad Beta oblivion. And the questions over my summer, though not as numerous as James's, were everywhere. What had I been doing? Was I okay? Who did I hook-up with to get over James with? (My favorite rumor being that I had spent the last two months with Harry Styles in Monte Carlo in a whirlwind romance that ended but formed a good bond with me and One Direction for later events thrown by me).

It was my job (no, my duty) to shock tonight.

I had to be different. I had to be the one everyone remembered after tonight.

And, while my dress was beautiful and I looked great, it wasn't enough.

I needed a cherry on top, which I got…

As the cameras flashed as we got out of the limo to KISS, he got out first, and the photographers eagerly ate up the mischievous smile he had perfected so long ago. His eyes filled with that of a kid about to play a prank as he reached inside the limo and offered a hand to me.

_Now or never._

I stood and faced the world.

A collective gasp filled the air. Party goers getting their pictures in hope GG would want it or that it would turn up for KISS somewhere wheeled around to look. Jaws dropped. Eyes widened. And either jealousy or pure shock was evident on everyone's faces, if not both.

Showing up and looking the best? That was normal me. Looking this good? I had to admit it was customary to try for such special occasions. Wearing confidence and strength as my greatest accessory? Me, too.

Now showing up on the arm of Clayton White?

Hell might have just as well been frozen by a pair of flying pigs.

I let a small smile form as I thought of the headline.

**Clayton Steals a KISS in the Dark From Massie**, blinked in my mind.

I had control of the media tomorrow. No newbie was stealing it from me.

As Clayton and I walked, with Claire and Dylan following behind, we wore matching sly grins, and I was prepared to keep that sly grin to get to the ball room, but then I saw The Plants standing in the hall.

Poppy, Clementine, and Sage all stood wearing dresses the same color as the plants they were named after.

Clementine had on an orange knee-length vintage velvet gown that would have been perfect without the color, and her caramel-colored hair was wrapped around in a bun the shape of an orange. Sage had on a strappy green dress, and her blonde hair was in the same style as Claire.

Then there was Poppy.

Poppy was wearing a red-pink dress shaped like the flower she was named for. I had a simple top, and the bottom seemed to be like petals. Her auburn hair was flowing around her, and her trademark headband now had a poppy on it.

She was alpha of KISS'S Beta clique.

And I could tell she wanted to switch roles starting tonight.

She didn't lose hope when she saw me, just a bit of discouragement. It was when she saw Clayton that her eyes turned desolate, but she did what any well-bred girl would do. She smiled wide, and she said hello.

"Oh, Massie, you're back. Its wonderful to see you," her smile was friendly, but she made no move to hug, neither did I. I stayed latched on to Clayton.

"It's great to see you, too, Poppy."

"Oh thank you, Massie. These must be your friends, Dylan and Claire, right?" Poppy turned to Dylan and Claire, "You know, Dylan, my little cousin in America, Hannah, just adores your show. Her mother says that she even used cool-aid to get the Marvil red hair!"

Poppy laughed, and Dylan followed. I let out a polite chuckle but wanted to move on.

Sage nudged Poppy.

"We better get to the party," Sage tried, also wanting to get out of this.

"Oh right. It was wonderful seeing you, Massie, Claire, Dylan."

She let out a wave as she walked towards the party with her two friends.

"Please tell me she is a victim of the car," I whispered as we kept walking, and he looked back at me with a smirk.

"Seriously, what the _hell_ do you guys think about my car?"

"You seduce a beautiful girl and make her feel like the most important thing in the world. From what they all say," I smiled, "You blow their minds."

"All true."

"And, when they get back in their clothes, you give them long kiss and walk back into the party with them. Though they know the stories, they feel like this is different for you. So they go to the bathroom to freshen up, and you're gone. You act like nothing really happened, and that's just it. Heart broken, and a victim of your car."

"Oh my God, that's what you guys have been freaking about with my car?"

"Is it not true?"

"Oh no, it's true. But not all the time. I can be a pretty nice guy, you know."

"You can also be an ass."

"I would be nicer to the guy taking you to this dance you know."

"If I am nice, you might think I'll go to the car," I smirked, and Clayton let out a grin.

"Hey, where is the party?" Claire moved faster to where she was standing beside me.

Though she had wanted to walk in with Cam, just as they had done for almost every single school dance in Westchester _ever_, Cam had been running behind and said he would show up with his friend, Payne. I could almost see Claire's worries mounting on her shoulders.

She had been trying to act like none of this bothered her, desperately not wanting to be a stalker girlfriend. Claire had always been the most important thing in the world to Cam, but now he was drifting away. Logic told her it was alright, but I could see it wasn't alright.

A sudden worry for Claire hit me.

Was Clam about to call it quits?

I had been for it until I started dating James. I said they needed new experiences, to not miss out on life because they were buying each other candy, and I had always made it very clear that I found their lovey-dovey ways to be unbearable.

But I wasn't sure how I felt about it now.

"Right here," Clayton's grin turned wicked as we approached the ball room.

"Get prepared ladies. You are about to have every student's eyes on you. And we all pride ourselves on our amazing ability at jealous glares," Clayton flashed a big smirk.

And he was right. Everyone's GPA, though still proudly high on average, would skyrocket if we made "Bitchy-Glares" a new class. It was strictly enforced that you learned it or you were a victim of it until you finally caught on.

I felt a big smile form as I realized that the bitchy glare was filled of jealousy, not pity.

The four of us came down the stairs, and I wasn't sure I had ever felt a flush of confidence fill me as everyone's eyes focused on in on me, my dress, my friends, and particularly my date.

And then I caught the face in the crowd that didn't look at my fine dress or my beautiful accessories, my friends or even really my date. No, he looked at me. Only at me. Particularly and definitely at _me_.

My body almost seemed to stop working, and Clayton almost had to pull me down the stairs. =

_Night of Hell starting now_, I realized, _So much for a lot of fun._

_**Claire,**_

The party was amazing. Despite the obvious drinking age violations and the fact it would be one of the biggest scandals in KISS history, Champaign was being served to everyone. At the bar, you could get a variety of drinks to suit everyone's taste. The music was loud but not unbearably loud and not shaking the floor.

Everywhere you looked you saw beautiful dresses, beautiful girls, and jealous stares. There was laughter, chit-chat, and dancing. Everything was lavish and beautiful. Even the "ugly ducklings" of the school were beautiful.

Just standing at the beginning-of-the-year party, I could tell that it was a lot to live up to in basically every sense.

No wonder Massie had been so worried about losing her kingdom. With anyone other than Massie Block, the castle walls would have been stormed long ago.

But I wasn't focused on the party or the people. I was looking for one person in particular, Cam. First he couldn't meet me at the Block Castle. Then he couldn't meet me to walk me in. And now he was MIA at the biggest party of the year.

Cam was earning his way into probation, and the school year hadn't even started yet.

I had worked my way basically through a circle as I looked for him. Massie was off talking to the Royals, mainly just to show them that she was okay after the break-up and that she had the best arm-candy at the party. Dylan was at the bar and being flocked by American-Reality-TV fan.

They were having fun, or at least joining on the party. I was stuck searching for my boyfriend.

"Cam is digging his own grave," I mumbled, and I finally decided to give up on my boyfriend and let him find me.

I started towards the bar, mentally fighting over the decision over which drink to get, and I was narrowing it down between a Cosmo or a simple glass of Champaign, deep it thought. And then suddenly, I found myself running full force into someone.

Before I could fall, I felt someone's arms wrap around me and pull me straight up again.

_Payne_.

"We have to stop meeting like this," Payne laughed, and I just kept staring at him.

"Uh, yeah, we do," I pulled away from him quickly, trying not to enjoy his presence. But it was getting harder and harder, and that worried me beyond belief.

Before, I was always jealous of other girls, but I was faithful. I didn't have other crushes, other possibilities for if Cam left me, or any of that. Cam, though I hate to admit it and he might not even be totally honest about, always had a back-up plan in case we ended.

I never had. Cam was my one and only. Or, at least, he was until Payne.

_Don't talk like that_, I hissed to myself.

"So, where's Cam?"

Payne looked down, and my jaw tightened.

"Let me, guess. Busy?"

Payne nodded, and I tried not to growl.

"The biggest party of the year…"

"He'll be here soon, and, until then, I'm here to show you around," Payne smiled, "And I'm _much _more fun than Cam."

Given the fact that I was suffering from a "crush" on Payne, the best idea would be to steer clear of him until it had settled itself away and became just a memory of a deep and natural attraction that was thought to be more due to Cam pushing me away. But I wasn't in the mood for good ideas or what would be best.

Firstly, I wanted to get even with Cam, and this would do it. Secondly, I actually wanted to have fun, and Payne looked like fun.

This _was_ the biggest and best party of the year. Not even a Massie party would be like this, and that was saying something. I needed to enjoy it before the clock struck twelve and, like Cinderella's carriage turned into a pumpkin, this party turned into a nightmare.

"I'll just take you up on that."

Payne smiled a beautiful and playful smile.

"Which major are you?"

"Major?"

"Your classes," Payne explained.

"Oh, right, my major. I'm sorry. Fine arts. Acting and photo journalism," I nodded, trying not to blush.

"You'll have classes with my sister!" Payne smiled.

"You have a sister?" I asked.

"Nyssa, we're twins. Come meet her. Actually, you should meet the rest of your classmates, too. It'll be fun," Payne smiled encouragingly, and I nodded. He grabbed on to my hand, and he pulled me through the party towards a group of girls.

I could tell Nyssa immediately. She looked just like her brother, only feminine of course.

Her brother had green eyes the color of clovers. His hair was a blonde-brown, and it always seemed to be perfect, even when he wasn't trying. Her cheekbones were high but not too sullen. His lips were thick but not too thick, and his nose was roman but not too pronounced. And he had an adorable little scar on his eyebrow.

Nyssa had the same green eyes, only it was heightened with eye make-up. Her hair was the same blonde-brown with a streak of navy blue and formed in a half-up half-down hairstyle. Her cheekbones were high and highlighted by blush. Her lips were the same thickness but with lipstick on them. And her nose was something that plastic surgeons everywhere tried to recreate.

Her dress was simpler than some of the rest but definitely not simple. It was a navy blue with a sweeping A-Line skirt with swatches of lace from the top coming to the bottom. The navy lace wrapped around her corset, and it reminded me of a simpler version of Massie's dress.

She smiled as she saw her older brother, and Payne walked faster towards her.

"Payne! There you are! I don't get how we live in the same school but managed not to see each other all week!" Nyssa hugged Payne, and he smiled.

"Soccer, I've been busy. But I am here now, and I want you to meet a new classmate of yours. This is Claire," Payne motioned towards me, and I let out a weak wave, "She is dating my roommate, Cam."

"Cam? That guy Layne talks to all the time?" Nyssa asked, maybe or maybe not knowing the implication that I got out of that. But her brother most certainly got it.

"Cam and Layne used to have a band together when we were kids. The three of us were great friends," I smiled, trying to keep my cool as I added yet another offense to the list that Cam would have to pay for.

"Wow, and you guys all ended up at KISS!" Nyssa smiled, "So, what's your major?"

"Fine arts. Mainly Acting and Photo Journalism."

"Oh my God, we'll be in the same classes," Nyssa smiled, "Oh my, Mrs. Angelica would kill me if she head. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Nyssa Williamington."

Nyssa put out a hand.

"I'm Claire Lyons," I shook her hand.

"Why do you girls all care so much about what Mrs. Angelica does to you?" Payne laughed.

"Why _don't_ you?" Nyssa crossed her arms and looked to me, "She has the power to get us off the list for the best trip of the year where we travel a country. This year its Spain, and I am not missing that. Abby got the two of us off the list for Hungary."

"Not like you missed much."

"That _isn't_ the point, Payne."

"Stop scaring Claire. This is her first chance to hang out with the KISS crowd. Don't get her scared of us all," Payne draped his arm around me, and Nyssa smiled. It took everything in me not to blush.

And then it took everything in me not to moan at the realization I almost _blushed._

"Then you need to see KISS the right way. Come on, Payne, you've got to be sure that she gets a _KISS on The Lips_ from the bar. Don't worry, Claire, it's a drink. Great one, too. And you've got to make sure you get her as far away from Posy as possible. She doesn't need to meet them and let them give KISS a bad name."

"You two still fighting?"

"Doesn't matter," Nyssa waved it off, "Shoo, shoo. Get Claire the drink."

"Someone wants to go see Nile," Payne sing-sang as we started towards the bar, and Nyssa blushed.

Payne and I let out a laugh, and we began to mingle through the thick crowd towards the bar.

"Who is Nile?"

"Her _'just-friend'_ best friend. She met him when we were six at a Legacy party. His parents met at KISS and moved to Egypt right before he was born, hence the name. She's been into him since we were thirteen."

"And never said anything?"

"Too nervous to mess up their friendship and too stubborn to admit her brother might be right."

I smiled.

"You guys get along much better than me and my little brother, Todd," I shrugged, and he looked back at me.

"You have a brother?" Payne asked.

"Yeah, Todd, or _Toad_. He is a few years younger than me. Our parents say that, the moment I started 'Big Girl School' Todd and I might as well have been enemies."

"Well, Nyssa and I didn't like each other as kids. We always fought because we had to share all the big stuff, including a big fight every year at our birthday. But it is a Williamington tradition to attend KISS at the beginning of middle school. So, when we got here, we just got closer."

"My parents have been convinced to that family camping trips, game nights, or even part of the summer with our grandparents in Florida will suddenly bring us together. They seem to have forgotten the inventions of cell phones," I smiled, and Payne laughed.

As we got to the bar, Payne ordered a "KISS on the Lips" , and I looked around to see Dylan raising her eyebrows at me.

My phone buzzed in my mini bag.

While Payne wasn't looking, I took it out.

**Who is the hottie?**

**-Dyl**

I quickly typed back a response, willing myself to press send.

**Payne, the guy Layne wants to set you up with. Want him?**

**GummiClaire**

I pressed send and waited.

**Nah, I think he looks a little busy.**

**-Dyl**

I looked up at her mortified, and she winked.

"There you are," Massie's voice broke me out of the trance, and I smiled thankfully. I could now get away from Payne, which was good. But it also somewhat made me sad.

Payne turned around with my drink and smiled at Massie, though shocked.

"Payne," Massie hugged him, but it wasn't as friendly. It seemed somewhat final, as if she knew that he was James's now and that she would no longer be one of his friends.

"Massie, you look amazing."

"So do you, Payne. Now, may I ask how on earth you stole my friend?" Massie smile at him while crossing his arms.

"There was no _stealing_. Cam was late, and I was hanging out with Claire until Cam showed up."

"Well, I am afraid I have some people Claire needs to meet," Massie smiled, and Payne nodded.

"Bye, Payne," I smiled as Massie lead me away, and she looked back at me.

Her lips formed a big smirk.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"This is not _nothing_."

"No, it's nothing, really… I mean, Payne _is_ handsome. And he is sweet. And there does seem to be attraction-"

"_Massie!"_ I hissed.

"Don't _'Massie'_ me," Massie smirked, "Somebody has a crush."

"I have a boyfriend."

"A boyfriend who has disappeared the night of the biggest party of the year when you begged him to come," Massie shook her head.

"I can get even with that _later_," I shook my head.

"On a happier subject, I have people you need to meet," Massie faked a smile, and her face turned to shock. She suddenly changed directions, "On a better thought, there are also some people over here."

It didn't take long for me to realize what it had been.

James…

_**Dylan,**_

After being introduced to a representative of about every clique in KISS, high and low on the social order, I wasn't sure I could handle another polite introduction. Everyone was different in their greetings. Different styles, different accents, and different manners. But I understood the gist of it.

The faces and the voices seemed to jumble up together in my memory. And I wondered how on earth Massie was able to keep them straight. Claire seemed to be getting a headache like me, and we retired to the edge of the party with a glass of Champaign each.

It was edging close to midnight as was the momentum. Nervousness mingled in to the party. No one was on the dance floor at the time showing off their correct waltz or dancing to the beat of the latest hit single. They were all talking, and everyone was wondering what it would be this year.

Certain girls set about rumors that they might be in the spotlight this year. Unstable couples were questioned, and slutty girls were questioned even more. Everyone wondered if Massie's American friends would do something, especially Claire since it was going about that her boyfriend was MIA at the_ KISS in the Dark _party. And then there was the obvious one.

Massie Block and James Winthrop.

They were a bomb waiting to go off.

And what more entertaining time to the masses than during the _KISS in the Dark _party, which just so happens to be James's first appearance back after his sudden disappearance. Even I had to admit that I was beginning to think that it would be them making the biggest scandal in the dark.

"Thank you," Massie snagged another glass of a waiter, and she turned her attention back to us.

"Don't you dare tell me that there are _more_," Claire moaned.

"Not that _you_ would want to meet. Besides, haven't you noticed? It is gossip hour. Everyone had to talk about years before and predictions for tonight. As we get closer to midnight, they will kick up the party again. But, for now, either you gossip or you drink," Massie finished that message with taking a sip of her drink, letting us know her choice.

"Why do you all still come?" I wondered.

I was graced with the understanding of needing and creating drama. My job depended on awkward confrontations, fights, and secret battles being dramatized. If we didn't do that, the show would have been canceled long ago.

But, when my career and livelihood _didn't_ depend on it, I saw no reason to industrially circulate gossip, especially to the extent as these girls.

"I don't know, to hold on to my _queendom_, I guess. Make sure I can put an end to any insane gossip. And it also _is_ an amazing party," Massie flashed us a smile.

"When does GG report?" I wondered aloud, and Massie shrugged.

"12:30? 1:00? I don't know. Either soon after or the next morning."

"What time do you usually leave?"

"Well, it ends at one AM. At that time, there is a final waltz, and the headmaster comes up to wish us all a very merry school year. Then we all get into our limos and either go to an after party, go into London for more partying, or we go home. Some people leave early, _especially_ if they were involved in the drama this year."

"What do I bet you that Cam still won't be here by then?" Cam's jaw tightened, and her arms crossed. In their long standing relationship, I wasn't sure I had ever seen her be so mad at Cam. I wondered if it had anything to do with Payne. Massie seemed to think it did, hence why she probably stole Claire away from Payne at the bar.

"Come on, Catty-Claire, cheer up. Let's go get a drink."

"Hey, you guys go ahead. I have to check something."

"Gawd, Dylan, you are supposed to _stop_ working."

"I know. But my _mother_ doesn't know that. And I have to stay slightly on her good side or she will exercise her rights as my legal guardian and pull me out of KISS and pack me up for school," I pulled out my phone, and Massie accepted that.

As I expected, there was more footage.

This time, it was my sisters fighting because Jamie said she was in love with her new boyfriend and would be with him forever and Ryan said that it wouldn't be like that with the way she slept around.

My sisters held on to the romance-fighting part of our show. They fought over boys. Called each other sluts. Everything focus groups deemed entertaining on a reality show.

After watching the video, I just rolled my eyes and put my phone away, looking out to the party.

_Even when I'm not working, I'm not a part of the party_, I suddenly felt horrible. I wondered if I could ever really be part of the party again. If I wasn't attached to my cell phone and my work.

England was supposed to be a different Dylan, but nothing really felt different.

I just looked different. I was just in a different time zone. And just a different country.

I was starting off towards the bar to order another _Kiss on the Lips_, and I found that there was a crowd on the way there.

And I somehow found myself stuck in it before I could do anything about it.

"What is this?" I mumbled.

"Everybody thinks they'll beat the midnight rush for a drink by coming now. And it makes the rush _now_, not at midnight," someone's voice shocked me, and my eyes flew beside me to see a guy ruffling his hair.

_Greek god_, flashed through my mind just looking at him for the first time, and the idea only strengthened after getting a better and longer look at him.

His hair was ink black and curly. His skin was olive, and his eyes were a dark chocolate brown. His face looked like it was carved out of marble, his cheekbones perfect, his lips sculpted, and his nose the dream of plastic surgeons everywhere. Even his tux seemed different on him. It was less… serious on him. The tux was little looser though still fitting well. And his black bow tie was tilted.

"Hi, I'm Dmitri," he held out a hand, and I smiled as I took his hand.

"I'm Dylan."

"Nice to meet you, Dylan. So, are you a freshman or just a new kid?"

"New kid," I nodded, "How many years have you been here?"

"I've been kinda going back and forth since I was thirteen," Dmitri ruffled his hair again, "Divorce."

"Ahh. My parents got divorced when I was about eleven. My mom got custody of me and my two sisters, though she is a complete workaholic," I rolled my eyes.

"My parents got split, though they live in different countries. I like being with my mom. And my dad wants me here with his new family," Dmitri shrugged, and I nodded understandingly.

"Any siblings?" I asked.

"Well, a half-sister. But we're not close at all, and I see my cousin, Hamlet, as more of a little brother than anyone else. Are you close to your sisters?" Dmitri asked.

I shook my head, almost laughing.

"Might as well not be related. They are close to each other though. My friends might as well be my siblings. I love them like it," I smiled.

Dmitri and I kept talking as we waited through the entire line, but it didn't seem tedious anymore. It was actually enjoyable to keep talking to him. Yes, I had talked to children of divorce before (I was _living_ with Massie after all) but it felt different with Dmitri.

I wasn't sure what it was that made Dmitri so much fun to talk to, but it just was. It seemed easier, too. Everything just seemed to click.

By the time I finally realized how long we had been talking, we were already threw the line, at the bar, and on our second drink.

"You look nothing like your sister," I thought aloud, "I mean, are you_ sure_ Felicia is your sister?"

"I can assure you, I have thought of having DNA testing to prove that we are in no way related, but my dad and step-mother keep saying that Felicia is my sister even if I don't like it. Then again, this is the same family that is convinced that my mother is forcing me to go back to Greece and that I want to be here. I've told them _a million times_ that I would rather be in Greece," Dmitri smiled with a shrug.

"So, are you a boarding student or day student?"

"Day student. I could have been a boarding student, which would have been much better, but Felicia wanted to be like her idol and live at home," Dmitri rolled his eyes. I knew he was talking about Massie, but I didn't want to get on that subject. Firstly because it brought up James. Secondly because I wanted him to think of Dylan as Dylan, not Dylan as Massie's American Friend. I didn't get the chance though because Dmitri returned to asking about me, "Are you a day or boarding?"

"Day, I live with my best friend," I decided to bring her up, "Massie Block."

"So you're _the_ Dylan?"

"Why is it that every time I bring up being friends with Massie people ask me if I am _the Dylan_?" I crossed my arms.

"Because we've been hearing about you guys for _years._ It feels weird to realize that you guys are human and everything. We are all a little shocked to finally get to meet _The Pretty Committee_," he smirked, but he seemed friendly about it.

"I'm not sure we've been _The Pretty Committee_ in a long time. Kirsten lives in Florida. Alicia has been trying to make a name for herself and even signed up for Alpha Island. And Massie lives in England."

"I think you'll always be _The Pretty Committee_, Dylan."

Somehow, that made me smile.

* * *

_**Ugh, sorry this took so long. I have been working out exactly how to have the big Midnight shocker, and I promise it won't be as long to get that out as this has been.**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Dylan,**_

The KISS party could be likened to a New Year's Eve party. In ways, I suppose it was. It was a new school year. Girls were making new school year revolutions. Everyone was scurrying about to make sure they had a kiss for midnight. Champaign was given out to be toasted, and everyone prepared to start their new year with a bang.

At the warning that it was fifteen minutes until midnight, everyone appeared back in the center of the party at the dance floor. Music was played to fill the anxious silence, and the sound of nervous laughs, terrified taps of shoes on the floor, and murmur over the past scandals were heard everywhere.

And it all centered around Massie Block.

With Clayton on her arm, she had already claimed her spot in the middle. Champaign was already in Massie's hand, and she had a calm demeanor about her. There were no nervous ticks, gossip being spread, or even timid confessions of fear coming from her lips.

The Queen of KISS Stood proudly like a monument that inspired awe, morale, and perfect posture.

The Devious Prince of Kiss had a smirk, playful eyes, and a look of a trick up his sleeve. He inspired drinking games, parties, spying, and a need to start bopping your head to the music.

They were very different and a very deadly combination. Everyone watched them like a kid nervously watches another kid when the other child is in charge of putting the Mentos in the Coke on field day. They were an explosion ready to happen, and the people nearby worried that the foam would go all over them when it happened.

I knew I should probably be with them during midnight, but it would have taken forever to weed through all of the people to get to them. I wouldn't have made it to midnight. And, besides, I was with Dmitri, and I was perfectly fine with spending my KISS in the Dark Midnight with him.

After we got our drinks, Dmitri lead me to the crowded dance floor, and I heard tidbits of predictions and gossip about Massie on the way there on the way there.

"I bet Massie will kiss Clayton."

"Massie will probably be a _Car Girl_. Clayton'll be gone before she knows what happens."

"How did _she_ get Clayton to come?" bitter jealousy was intertwined in her voice.

"I bet Massie will kiss James!" some girl giggled.

Dmitri made a face, and I knew he could hear it to. I decided to stop paying attention to it and focus in on Dmitri.

We hadn't really talked much about Massie and definitely not about James. He was a friend of James, and I knew that, like many others, he had once been a friend of Massie's but had to now choose between the two, and James won for him.

So the talk of James and Massie drama bothered both of us.

Dmitri and I didn't really talk as we picked a place on the dance floor, but we had a silent agreement to move to a place where we couldn't hear the gossip over Massie and James. Instead, we ended up beside some of the rugby players talking about their sport.

"So, where's Felicia?" I asked, trying to break the ice again.

"No doubt by Massie or something. Probably trying to find someone to give her a big scandal so that she can be cool or something," Dmitri rolled his eyes.

He and Felicia really didn't like each other, and Dmitri seemed to dislike his father and step-mother just as much. I wondered why his family made him come back when he was so happy in Greece and so very unhappy in England with his father's new family.

When I was fifteen, my father was newly married, and he had bought a true family home in Westchester instead of going between his New York apartment and Westchester condo. He asked all of his children if they wanted to move in with him. This was mainly used for drama on the show and not taken seriously. I was the only of his three daughters who actually considered it. But, when we decided against it, we weren't forced. They just set up rooms for us at their house, and I did come over and sleep there, especially when I was in a fight with my mom and didn't want to be in the same house as her.

We were never forced to be with them, they just left their doors open for us.

I wasn't sure what it was like to be forced to be away from their loved parent to their annoying one.

"You don't try to make headlines at midnight?" I laughed.

"I did once. Got snogged by a very pretty girl my Freshman year. Her boyfriend started throwing punches, but it was pretty worth it."

I laughed.

"Well, this is my first year, and I don't want headlines. None of these headlines ever seem to be any good."

"They wouldn't be headlines if they were good. Nothing good ever makes it on GossipGirl's radar, you'll learn that very fast, especially given who you are friends with. GossipGirl is always after Massie Block."

"Why?"

Dmitri seemed to think about it, and he shrugged.

"She does that to everyone. It started a few years back, and no one has any clue who it is. Just about every well-do child that has been hurt by this blog has tried everything. Shutting it down. Tracking her. Attempts at suing. But it popped up again, she was never found, and a suit couldn't happen without knowing who it even is," Dmitri shrugged.

I might have asked more if there hadn't been another time announcement.

They had been going on, but I hadn't noticed it until now.

"Twenty seconds till midnight. Raise your classes."

Dmitri and I raised our glasses, and we began the countdown.

I smiled, almost laughing as I cheered along.

"_Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two."_

For the moment between two and one, I felt my heart completely stop, and it felt like an eternity between now and then. That one second might as well have been a year. Everything seemed to stop.

And then it was like I pressed play again.

"_One_!"

The lights flicked off.

Commotion was everywhere. I heard people. Yells. Laughs. Maybe even a slap or two.

And then I felt arms around me, pulling me close.

….But then pushing me away.

Like they were being forced to let me go. It was a harsh push, and it sent me back a little until I dropped my Champaign, though the glass stayed intact and was made to be dropped like this. I stopped myself from falling on someone, and I quickly tried to find my way in the dark.

I felt Dmitri nearby as I ran into him, and I also felt someone else…

My mind was racing. I had no clue where I was, who was around me, or what the hell was going on. Things were too confusing, and I felt my drinks and the random snacks I had been eating climb up my throat.

Then the lights clicked back on.

I knew where I was. My stomach subsided. And I wasn't running into people anymore.

And then I felt like fainting. My stomach was threatening to spill its contents on the dance floor. And everything was even more confusing.

Poppy.

Dmitri.

It swirled in my mind.

_P-Poppy a-and Dmitri-i are kis-ssing…_

Her hands were on his cheeks, pulling him into a kiss. Her body was pressed up against his, and, while he didn't have his arms wrapped around her and still looked shocked, he sure as hell wasn't pulling away!

Poppy pulled away, her red lipstick staining his lips.

Her long auburn curls were perfect, and one stray thick curl fell on his shoulder. Her green eyes sparkled, and I realized how pretty she was. It hadn't occurred to me before, she was just a beta, but now I saw her very, very differently.

It was then that I realized that this was also her plan.

When we saw her outfit and big smile, I knew that she was thinking that this would be the night she went from Beta to Alpha. But I hadn't known what her headline would be. Now I did. Dmitri was her headline, and she kept to it.

Maybe even if it was just to be mean to me…

"I missed you so much, 'Mitri. It has been _soooo_ long," she ran her hand through his hair, and Dmitri was shocked and staring at her.

"Oh, Dylan," Poppy forced a blush, but I didn't buy it, "I didn't know you were there."

"Poppy, hey," I did everything not to squeak.

"Can I talk to Dmitri for a minute?" she smiled, and I felt my jaw tighten.

"You don't have to," Dmitri tried, but there was no way I was sticking around.

"Oh no, I am going to go find Claire. You guys should talk, you probably have a lot of catching up to do," I smiled, and that smile disappeared as soon as I turned around.

_Drink. I need a drink…._

_**Claire,**_

The entire party, Massie had been trying to help me with Cam having ditched me tonight. She was trying to just distract me. To keep me from really getting mad at Cam and possibly doing something I would regret later. She was trying to help me enjoy myself.

But it was a bust.

I wasn't distracted. I was _really_ mad at Cam, and I might just do something stupid I might regret.

Massie wasn't helping, but I respected that she was trying. She took me over to the bar, and we got a few drinks, laughed, and did enjoy ourselves. But Clayton pulled Massie away to talk to someone, and I finally let myself pout and truly be mad at Cam.

I was buying myself another drink to drown away my sorrows when I found myself with Nyssa again.

We were both pouting about boys, so we began to explain our woes to each other.

I found that Nile was currently dancing with _Anya_, which was apparently an outrage. Nyssa told me about how they had been talking, laughing, and about how they had been clumsily been doing the waltz. She told me about how happy they were and how they went to get a glass of champaign and ran into _Anya_. Then Anya gave Nile a big sob story about how no one had danced with her and, being a nice guy, took her to the dance floor. Nyssa was angry that, this close to midnight, Nile was with _Anya_ and not her!

Nyssa seemed happy to have someone to complain to, and I liked talking to her, letting her vent.

And then it was my turn.

I began pretty early on because that was when it really started. I explained that, as soon as he was accepted, he seemed to have changed. I told her of how Cam and Layne suddenly seemed so close, closer to each other than either were to me recently. Then I explained what he was doing now by skipping out on me at KISS in the Dark! And it wasn't just being late. It was almost midnight, and he was nowhere to be found.

And Nyssa's jaw dropped, her anger towards Cam heightened, and her pity for me very apparent.

"Oh my _Gawd_!" she said, and she promptly hugged me. We then began to complain about my boyfriend.

After a good while of complaining, we shifted over to more girl talk, and it was clear that we could be pretty good friends.

And then Payne showed up.

Nyssa did what I wanted to but didn't dare by asking where on earth Cam really was, and Payne just told us that he honestly had no idea why he wasn't here by now.

Nyssa began to complain about Cam again, and we all got a drink together. As we shifted onto the subject of Nyssa, we began to talk about Nile again, and Payne and I worked together to get her confidence up to go and dance with Nile again, who was now no longer dancing with Anya but talking to her.

It took some coaxing and a very strong drink, but we got her to do it.

Sure, it was great having Nyssa doing what she wanted, but I didn't realize I would then be left with Payne.

Considering how mad I currently was with Cam and that there was already an attraction for Payne and a good amount of alcohol in me, I was very nervous to be alone with him. Particularly when the _KISS in the Dark_ party was jinxed with a history of cheating couples, mistakes, and big scandals.

Payne seemed just as uncomfortable as me, and we nervously hung out for a little while, and it got comfortable, I suppose.

And then, somehow by the hands of fate, we soon found ourselves on the dance floor, and I pulled out the moves that won me a dance competition and introduced me to Cam in the first place. Payne pulled out his lack of good dance moves and showed me that, while he was good with his feet on the soccer field, dancing was not his thing. Then it shifted to a waltz, and I soon found that his ballroom dancing was superior to my clumsy attempt.

Payne seemed to take the task of teaching me his dancing as a bet, and I decided to teach him my dancing. He taught me pretty well. I wasn't good, but I wasn't as bad. My teaching just gave us all some laughs.

We had been so busy with it all that I had forgotten how close were to midnight until the music stopped and there was an announcement that it was fifteen minutes until midnight.

Everyone moved towards the floor, and it was such a commotion that I couldn't really tell where anyone was. I looked for Massie, but I didn't see her or Clayton. I looked for Dylan, and I didn't see her. And I looked for Nyssa, and I found her. I wasn't going to ruin the moment of Nile and Nyssa together at midnight though.

So Payne and I just stayed where we were, grabbing a flute of Champaign as it passed by.

And I listened to the nervous chattering of everyone talking about midnight. People were talking a lot about Massie. They said that she would probably end up snogging Clayton, and some even laughed that they might not even be out here at midnight if they had already moved on to the car. Some said that they felt bad for the two of them since Massie must have been taking out her pain of James by dating a bad boy and that she would pass through the phase soon enough. People also talked about James. They said it would be impossible for him to escape without a bunch of girls snogging him in the dark now that he was single.

After a while, the gossip seemed to run together, and I kept looking for Massie and Dylan, knowing I should join them.

By the time I found the two, it would have been too late to weed through the crowd and get to them, so I stayed where I was.

I was a bit nervous about being with Payne at the time of the blackout. But I wasn't sure as I was nervous of him as I was nervous of what I might do…

My mother had always told me that you could tell someone's true character and desires by what they did when no one was looking.

And, when I was hurt, a little intoxicated, attracted to Payne, and filled with the impulse something like this blackout can cause, who knows what I might do?

Before I knew it, it was time for the countdown.

"_Ten,_" we all cheered at the top of our lungs, _"Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two_."

There was that split moment between two and one that might as well have been a lifetime. Time stopped, and the panic set in. Worry hit me. Anger and betrayal for Cam missing this pained me. And a giddy anticipation mixed in.

"_One_."

The lights switched off, and it was like the world stopped. People were moving, laughing, talking, falling, kissing, and even a few were slapping. Everything was going on, and I could only rely on my feeling and even hearing to know about it.

And then I felt arms around me, strong arms. They pulled me close, and I could feel someone's body pressed against mine. I could smell aftershave mixed with cologne getting closer to me.

_Payne?_ flashed through my mind, _Is it Payne? Is he kissing me?_

I was filled with a mix of mortification, worry, and yet a giddy feeling for him to kiss me faster.

_What the hell is wrong with you Claire?_ I mentally chastised myself, but I didn't move.

And then lips touched mine, and the kiss was passionate, urging me to kiss back with the same fervor.

Then the lights flicked back on, and I pulled away to get a look at my kisser.

I sucked in my breath with shock.

It wasn't Payne.

It was _Cam._

Guilt for kissing who I thought was Payne killed me.

"I'm here," he smiled wide, his lips now with the smeared pink of my lipstick.

Anger took me over again.

"Where the hell have you been?" I spat, pushing him away.

"Listen, I am so sorry. Layne had this gig, and she asked me to take over for someone in the band for old time's sake. And I was supposed to be back. I made sure I would be back. But there was this wreck on the road, and I couldn't get here until now. I am so sorry, Claire," he tried, attempting to get closer to me, but I took a step back.

_Layne_.

I could see her over his shoulder.

It wasn't until now that I realized how different we really were.

I looked like a princess, but she was a rock star. She was wearing the KISS in the Dark party dress she had picked out, probably having changed into it in the band van. Her black dress was loose on her thin frame but still flattering. The front had a v-neckline that wasn't too revealing in the front, but it was mirrored to have a plunging back. She wore many different silver, chain, and bulky necklaces. Her long black hair was in a high ponytail, and her nose ring was in.

We had always been different. We didn't have too much in common, but that was why we had been so close before. We had been through a lot together. Different fights, different jokes, different phases, different boys.

But Layne had never been competition.

And now she was.

"Layne? You chose to be with _Layne_ today."

"It wasn't like _that_, Claire," Cam tried, "There was a wreck."

"No, it is like _that_. You decided to go play with Layne, and you didn't even tell me! Why are you keeping it a secret, Cam?"

"It wasn't a secret."

"You're right, it was a _lie_. You told me that you were just running behind, not that there was a bad wreck! You left me here to wonder and worry! I have been here for _hours_ wondering where the hell you were, and you show up at midnight at the end of the party that I have been talking about forever and expect me to just be okay?"

"Claire-" Cam tried to put a comforting hand on my arm, and I pulled even farther away.

"Don't touch me, Cameron. You decided to be with Layne today, to risk missing tonight by going out of town to play with her. You decided to risk missing the party I have been talking about and desperately wanted you here for. You made your choice, and it was Layne over me. So you can hang out with her tonight," I hissed, and I stomped away from him. Cam was too shocked to run after me, he just stared wide-eyed.

Layne tried to rush after me, so I ducked into a group of people, and disappeared towards the bar.

_**Massie,**_

All night I had focused on everyone else.

I focused on what people thought of me. I focused on making sure I could keep my social standing and continue ruling KISS. I focused on being as I should while still being myself, and I focused on helping my friends become the new KISS Royal Family.

I focused on making sure that, as Queen, I visited representatives of each clique and that Claire and Dylan should also meet them. I focused on making sure that we kept friendly terms were friendly terms should be, and I focused on making sure that Betas knew that I wasn't giving up without a fight. And I focused on making sure that everyone knew that I could still be queen without a king.

I focused on making sure that Claire and Dylan had fun. I focused on keeping Dylan's mind on the party, not business or her cell phone. I focused on making sure that Claire didn't get too angry or too upset with Cam to enjoy herself at the best party of the year.

But now I wasn't focusing on anyone but me.

Clayton stole me away from cheering up Claire saying I needed to meet someone, and he took me to meet fun Massie. He took me to the dance floor, got me a few drinks, and began to make me dance with him. At first, this earned him a glare from me.

I had other things to do. I had people to check on. Places to be. Friends to check on. And Betas to look amazing in front of.

But somehow Clayton worked his magic, and I found myself dancing with him to the latest hits blasting through the stereo. And I found that Clayton was a great dancer. We did the waltz perfectly, and he could jump about to a dance song better than I imagined he could.

It wasn't long though until we were off the floor and hiding away in the school hallway.

I loved this hallway. This was the hallway both to the ballroom and the dance studio along with many other classes. The dance studio had always been a fun place.

Desperate Mondays were helped with the afternoon yoga classes where you could stretch tired muscles that were sore from carrying all those heavy books. Thursdays boasted ballroom dancing, which I attended. After school on Wednesdays offered the Booty-Burning workout that went until four. And, if you fancied more serious classes, ballet, tap, and modern dance classes were held there during school hours.

I had never signed up for any of those, of course. But I swore by yoga, ballroom dancing, and definitely the Booty-Burning workout, even if it mainly was so I could say that name.

This hallway let me change out of cute uniforms to comfortable yoga pants and not be judged.

But it was also one of the places where I could look at corners, secret closets, and doorways and know which ones I had sneaked off with James to snog in.

"So, Massie Block, shall we do as the rumors say and sneak off to my car?" Clayton smirked, and I pushed him playfully as I picked a place in the hallway and plopped down.

He sat beside me.

"You sure you want to be in there when it all goes down?" Clayton's voice was serious now.

I thought about it, and I finally nodded.

"I have to."

"No, you don't. Skip out. Go get drunk and jump in the KISS swimming pool. Do something stupid."

"It'll be alright," I nodded.

"You really think that?"

"No," I admitted, "But I can't shy away from this. I need to let it be known that I don't have to have him. That I can still function without a man in my life. That I am over him. That, just because I got dumped, that doesn't mean that I am suddenly broken, weak, and willing to give up."

"You, by no means, are willing to _give up_," Clayton rolled his eyes, and he turned his head towards me, "Are you really over him though?"

I looked off to a painting on the wall.

He took that as his answer.

"You could ask him you know."

"What?"

"Where the hell he went? Why he went? All that. You could ask him. He might just answer," Clayton smiled.

"_Ask him_? I c-can't _ask_ him!"

"Why not? People have done weirder stuff."

"Because I can't just go up to him and ask where he went and why he didn't talk to anyone and why he left me…"

"Why not? You know you'll have to talk to him sometimes."

I had been doing everything to stop that. Avoiding him tonight. Running away with Clayton when I saw him at the coffee shop. Switching some of our shared classes. And picking out new hangouts so we wouldn't have to run into each other.

But I knew I would have to talk to him eventually.

I was trying to think of something to say back to Clayton when we heard the announcement from inside the party saying that it was fifteen minutes until midnight.

Clayton looked at me, silently reoffering staying out here and skipping the midnight ordeal, but I was already getting up and fixing my dress.

"You don't have to come," I told him, but he shook his head.

"Let's do this, Mass," he stood, and he let out his favorite smirk.

Together we started towards the party, and everyone cleared way in the crowded dance floor for us to get a good spot, my usual spot.

Everyone was talking about me. Their whispers were covert as to what they were saying exactly, but their eyes on me explained that I was the subject. Louder talkers didn't try to hide it. And I heard a world full of new possibilities.

A lot of it was about Clayton. How on earth did I get Clayton to come with me, why I was dating him, whether I was going through a hurt stage where I tried to make a show of dating a badboy, if I was going to be loved and left before I knew it, and if I was just trying to make James jealous.

A whole lot more was about James. If I would kiss him tonight, if we would sneak off like we always used to, if our breakup was really official, or if I would transform into a crazy ex-girlfriend and take a bottle of Champaign to his head.

Honestly, I had to admit that the last option did sound pretty good.

I grabbed a glass of Champaign, and I took my spot on the dance floor, ready for midnight. Every year of this party, I had felt a sharp panic before midnight, but it didn't hit me like it usually did. I guess it was because I was afraid of a scandal back then. I already have one now…

I didn't even feel it as we began the countdown.

"_Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two_," I took a deep breath, _"One!"_

The lights turned off, and the student body of KISS that prided itself on being proper, correct, and very ladylike and gentlemanly suddenly forgot all the rules. The world went crazy. There was pushing, there was shoving, and there was a whole lot of falling. I could hear yelling, slapping, kissing, and overall chaos.

But everything seemed peaceful around me. I was pretty sure either a girl had just kissed Clayton or he had kissed a girl, but I wasn't sure.

I knew nothing because I was _doing_ nothing. I wasn't falling, fighting off boys, kissing James, or anything at all. My midnights had always been crazy. I was fighting off guys, snogging James like mad, and falling everywhere in the process.

But this year I just stood here.

I was left alone…

Suddenly, I felt a wave of sadness conquer me as I wondered if they really did think I was broken, that I wasn't interesting without James, and that I needed him.

And I then I felt something.

Someone was moving towards me, and they were so close now I could smell aftershave and cologne. And it smelled familiar. But I couldn't place it before I felt someone kissing me gently and so perfectly that, even if I didn't know who it was, I found myself kissing back and leaning in. Their hand was on my chin, pulling me closer, but it felt my chin to wrap one arm around my waist and to open my palm and put something in it. But I was too wrapped up in the kiss to really notice it until all of a sudden the lips pulled away and so did the presence of the person before I could even stop them.

_What the hell just happened?_

And then the lights were back on.

The world was back. Sanity was back. The _rules_ were back.

Clayton's lips were indeed red from someone's lipstick, and they had a big old smile painted across them. But I didn't have a smile, I was shocked, frantic as I looked around and tried to remember the smell of that cologne.

And then I looked in my palm and my world stopped.

It was a simple gold chain with a simple gold charm on the end.

It matched the gold of my prized charm bracelet perfectly, but it wasn't a charm I had bought for it. It was a charm for tourist to mark the places that they had been on charm bracelets, and it had a name of a city written in bulk letters,_ "Fiji"_.

Fiji?

I hadn't been to Fiji since I was about fourteen.

Fiji had always been fun, but it had been crossed off our traveling list when my mother became convinced while there that my father was in love with a business woman who was spending time there, which he denied. Either way, when we left, my mother made it very clear that our vacationing in Fiji days were over.

While there, I had never made any friends other than the occasional flirt at the pool or vacation-friend that I went shopping with or used as a wingwoman. There was nothing in Fiji that could haunt me.

I kept looking at the charm, trying harder and harder to figure out what it was supposed to mean.

"Massie?"

My eyes flew up to Clayton, who looked worried for me now.

"What is that?"

"I don't know," I showed him the charm, "Someone put it in my hand during the blackout."

"Fiji? Did you go to Fiji recently?"

I shook my head.

"Not since I was fourteen."

Clayton seemed to think that it was just as serious as I thought as it was, and he nodded.

"Come on, let's get outta here."

"You don't want to stay for the _Victory Waltz_?"

After midnight, there was the _Victory Waltz_. It was for the people who beat tonight, beat the odds, and ended the night without their reputations tarnished.

And then I heard Claire yelling.

"Let's be one hundred percent sure we won first, Mass."

And so we set off to find the girls.

They were both on their way to the bar when we found them, and I could tell easily that none of us had done very well in the dark.

"Let's go," Clayton nodded, and the four of us hurried out of the KISS in the Dark party.

Everyone was watching us as we skipped out on the _Victory Waltz_, and everyone could tell that GG had been right. We hadn't arrived victorious at midnight, and I could see the thoughts forming in their heads as they wondered if we would be end the year victorious. But I gave them all a glare that put those thoughts to rest.

I was still queen.

And, as we were going through the door at the top of the staircase, I got a glance at him.

He wasn't dancing, he was standing alone and watching us as he put a Champaign glass to his lips. He smiled at me weakly, and he let out a wave. Even from here, his eyes sparkled, and his charm radiated.

I took in a sharp breath, and I hurried faster out the door.

I knew the answer to Clayton's question now.

I was not over Sir James Winthrop II.

But I was going to be…


	10. Chapter 10

_**Massie,**_

I was the first to wake up the morning after the KISS in the Dark party. Well, I wasn't entirely sure that I went to sleep in the first place.

We were back in the limo from KISS by 12:30 AM. We decided that Clayton would be very happy installed in one of the guests rooms in the castle, and we set off for the Block Castle. During the drive, there was party music plying, prepared to keep us going until we were supposed to go to the after party at the _Warehouse_…

But we were no longer going to change into our tiny party dresses and keep dancing.

Instead, the music felt weird and unnatural. So did conversation really. Claire looked like she was either about to scream or bawl. Dylan made herself busy drowning whatever had happened in her work, and her fingers moved fast over the keyboard of her smartphone. Clayton looked at the necklace I had gotten. And I didn't do anything. I just stared out the window, not sure how to proceed.

It was a question over everything. What to do my first day of school. What even to wear from now on. Even what to think.

I wanted to make James jealous. I wanted to make him so jealous that he couldn't close his eyes without thinking of me with another guy. I wanted him to regret his choices, and I wanted to do it now.

And part of me wanted that jealousy to equate to what James would typically do when we were really mad but refused to apologize. Stop me somewhere (hallway or come visit my house) and push me up against the wall and give me such a perfect and hot kiss that the fire could only be fueled by the loss of clothing.

But I wasn't acknowledging that part of me.

Instead, my thoughts freely roamed over the night as a whole until the car finally pulled itself into my driveway.

We got changed out of our beautiful outfits. I took a shower, and I washed all of the make-up off my face, the hair products out of my hair, and tried to scrub the memories out of my brain. In the end, my make-up was off. My hair was clean and smelled of lilac and vanilla. But my memories were intact. I had taken this as a mild success and checked GossipGirl. Nothing yet, she was waiting until morning.

So I slipped into my pajamas, and I went to sleep.

I wasn't sure if I actually went to sleep honestly or if I just stared at the ceiling, trying, too.

Whichever it was, I was up and out of bed by eight AM.

This was the earliest I had ever woken up after a KISS in the Dark party, and it felt unnatural.

I pulled on a silky robe and came downstairs to find my father was reading the morning paper and having his favorite breakfast, chocolate chip pancakes and milk. I had banned chocolate chip pancakes from my diet, but I decided to break the rules after last night.

It was only nine when my dad went in his office to work on a few things, and only Esmeralda was left to keep me company.

"Must not have been a very good night, Massie," Esmeralda smiled as she continued kneading the dough for the biscuits she always made us for tea time. She would make them early in the morning so that they would last all day, and she began the dough for the fresh Sunday ones as well.

I nodded.

"Not very good indeed," I took a sip of my coffee.

"Did you see Mr. James?"

Esmeralda had always called him James. She called my friend, Blaire, Miss Blaire. She called Dmitri Mr. Dmitri. But she did not call James Mr. James.

I suppose she did now…

He wasn't my boyfriend. He wouldn't always be here. And he would no longer be teased by Esmeralda.

"Yes, I saw him as I was leaving," I pushed my hair behind my ear, not meeting her gaze.

"He must have been scared off by Mr. Clayton?" she laughed, somewhat as a declarative sentence and somewhat as a question.

Esmeralda somewhat liked Clayton as a friend, but she did not approve of Mr. Clayton being with her Miss Massie.

"By the way, Massie, is there a reason that Mr. Clayton is passed out in one of the guest bedrooms only wearing a pair of pants?" Esmeralda's eyes were playful but still serious enough to remind me of how much hell I would have to go through if I answered that incorrectly.

"He didn't want to have to head back to his dorm, and I knew there were abundant guest rooms. And I tried to pick one farthest away from me so that you wouldn't get upset, I am sorry I didn't ask, Esmeralda. I didn't want to wake you up at one in the morning."

"Very well, Massie. I just don't like that boy in this house," Esmeralda shook her head.

Esmeralda had been like my mom since my mother left, if not also before. After the divorce, she completely took care of me. She moved out of the cottage on the edge of the property and moved into the main house. She took care of me more than ever, and I adored her.

And I loved to tease her.

With that, it made me snicker as a shirtless Clayton walked into the kitchen, wearing a pair of sweatpants left by a random visitor to the castle. His blonde hair was a mess, and I could tell he was hungover by one glance at him.

Esmeralda's eyes widened.

"Morning, Mass. Morning, Essie."

Esmeralda's eyes about popped out of her head.

I did everything not to laugh.

Esmeralda stopped working on the biscuits and made him a plate of bacon, toast, and hash browns. She quickly gave it to him, put away the dough, and made an excuse to get out of the kitchen.

"I think she likes me," Clayton laughed as he bit into a piece of bacon.

"She _adores_ you, Clayton."

Clayton smiled and took a long gulp of orange juice.

"Have you read it yet?"

My heart stopped.

"No, not yet."

"There's safety in numbers, my dear. Where can we find a computer?" he got up.

I motioned for him to sit down again.

"I can get my laptop and bring it down."

Clayton didn't seem to like the idea, but Esmeralda's cooking could change anyone's mind. I went up the stairs and made my way to my room, where I picked up my lilac laptop and started back downstairs. I stopped by Claire and Dylan's room, and I could hear the soft sounds of sleeping. I doubted either wanted to wake up anyway, so I kept going downstairs.

Clayton was working on the hashbrowns when I got back, and I sat down at the bar beside him.

I logged on to GossipGirl, and we both held our breath as we waited for the page to load.

As always, there was a link to the KISS in the Dark post. When you pressed it, it took you to a more elaborate blog style with dark backgrounds and red lips on every following link to the rest of the posts.

Then there was the front page story, the one that everyone cared about.

And a picture of the four of us leaving last night took center stage.

**Massie and the Royal Court Wow**

**Massie, Dylan, and Clayton were already the talk of the town when we got to the party, but now they've been etched in as the stars of this KISS in the Dark party. Everyone was fighting to claim this coverpage, and everyone tried to do the craziest thing possible. But three girls deserve it this year.**

I felt myself smile, and Clayton nudged me.

"Pretty good, let's try the links now."

There were names below the picture of the four of us, and mine topped the list. I decided to tackle that last, and I began with Dylan.

A picture of Dylan walking in was the first picture above the article.

**American Found British Love?**

**Don't get your hopes up too fast. At the KISS in the Dark party, Dylan was seen chatting up the elusive Dmitri Armistead, the superhot Greek god who comes and goes from England as much as the custody agreement dictates. All night, they talked and smiled, and everyone was starting to see a new couple on the rise.**

**But those dreams fell short at midnight when, as everyone was expecting to see Dylan and Dmitri snogging when the lights came back on, his infamous ex-girlfriend, Posy, was pulling away from Dmitri's lips.**

**The budding Dmitri-Dylan romance seems to be off the table. At least, it is for now…**

**For now at least, let's congratulate Posy and Dmitri on getting back together.**

At the bottom, there was a picture of Dylan and Dmitri talking. Then there was Posy smiling happily at Dmitri with her arms around him and her fingers through his hair. Dmitri looked shocked.

Dmitri and Posy had been a pretty unlikely pair, but they got together when he was attending KISS. She was a cheerleader, and he was on the rugby team. Dmitri asked her to the Winter Formal, and they continued dating until a week after the Spring Formal.

Posy made a big deal of grieving their break-up, but she was dating a soccer player through the summer. And she had a fling with Clayton for a while.

"Dmitri and Dylan, I could see it," Clayton admitted.

I rolled my eyes and began to look through the other profiles. I pressed on Claire's name in bright blue.

**Mates Over Dates?**

**At the KISS in the Dark party, both Claire and her long time beau, Cam, chose Mates over Dates. Claire was seen walking in with her friends instead of her boyfriend at the party, and she was with them for most of the night with Cam nowhere in sight. And, when she wasn't with the girls, she was hanging with her date's mate!**

**Her boyfriend's new best friend and roommate, amazing Payne Williamington, became super close with Claire last night, even introducing her to his twin, Nyssa. From that point of the party on, when Claire wasn't with Payne, she was with Nyssa. Everyone's eyes were watching Claire and Payne, especially when they were together at midnight.**

**But, instead of a forbidden kiss shared by Payne and Claire, Cam was pulling away from Claire and smiling as if this kiss made his lack of being there alright, which it didn't. Claire and Cam ended up in a screaming match in the middle of the dance floor, and it was all centered around their mutual bestie, Layne.**

**Claire stomped off in a hurry, leaving her boyfriend (and even Layne) in shock. But what more can you expect by a girl who was stood up at the biggest party of the year?**

"Cam was with _Layne_!"

Layne and I had been on good terms before. We were friends in Westchester for a while, and we could have been really great friends over here if hadn't started becoming friends with Jeslyn Marie (a daughter of a famous musician who had come to the UK to seek relief from the paparazzi). Jeslyn and I were so different that it was clearly one or the other you could be friends with. I offered Layne power, cute clothes, cuter boys, and the spotlight. Jeslyn offered her a spot in her band (Marie and the Little Lambs), a badass reputation, and even more badass boys. Either way, Layne was far from being a LBR. The test of her loyalty came a month into the school year when I invited her for a Friday sleepover, which just so happened to be the same night as an invite to go clubbing at one of London's hottest rock band performances. Layne traded pajamas for a tight black dress, and that was that.

Within a year of their friendship, Layne had a nose ring, a tattoo, and had split from being a "Little Lamb" to be the lead singer and guitarist for her own band, though she remained a friendship with Jeslyn.

But that peaceful understanding seemed to fly out the window when I found out that Cam was with Layne when he stood up Claire and that Layne had allowed that.

I looked to the bottom with a link to Cam's profile over tonight, which was highlighted in scarlet red with Layne's name joining it.

**Rock Too Hard in London?**

**Anyone who is familiar with the London Rock-Club scene knew that Layne would be wearing fishnets, leather shorts, high tops, and a big KISS blazer (as is her usual outfit for shows) at a gig in London before slipping on her KISS in the Dark dress. But no one knew that her friend (and her best friend's boyfriend) would be joining her, especially without telling his girlfriend. Was there a reason these two tried so hard to hide it?**

**Either way, they got figured out when a bad wreck got the band stuck in traffic all night. Layne and Cam raced to the party, but they didn't show up until midnight. And Cam's girlfriend, Claire Lyons, wasn't too happy about it, but she went ballistic when she heard Cam had been with Layne? I wonder where that will take them?**

"Ooooh, let me see mine," Clayton took the laptop and pressed on his link and read about the shocker of having me as his date, how we sneaked off right before midnight, and wondering whose lipstick he was wearing after the blackout.

I didn't really pay attention as he read aloud. Instead, I stole some of Clayton's bacon and looked out to the window overlooking the grounds.

"I accept this account, your turn."

Clayton moved the laptop towards me, and I bit my lower lip as I pressed on the page about me. The page was black with a purple font. A picture of me with the girls around me and Clayton on my arm was the first picture of me, and the name underneath regarded me as Queen Massie.

That was what GG called me.

Queen Massie.

**Queen of KISS Keeps Her Throne**

**Tonight, everyone watched with a keen eye as we waited for our beloved Queen Massie to be beheaded. But Massie remained victorious over the Betas and reasserted herself as Alpha with no doubt behind that. No one is quite sure what won them over. How amazing she looked, her confidence, or even her super-amazing and **_**unbelievable**_** date.**

**For the last few days, everyone has been gossiping about a possible relationship between Massie and Clayton (oooh, Mayton! Or Classie!). And everyone thought that more as Massie showed up on Clayton White's arm! And everyone could feel the tension as Massie gazed down at James.**

**Throughout the party, Massie was doing her usual of going about and meeting with representatives of each clique, hanging out with her best friends, and dancing the night away with Clayton. And we all noticed the lack of the awkward confrontation we wanted so much. But don't you worry. We've still got a long school year ahead… ;-D**

Still got a long school year ahead.

Those words lingered in my mind.

"Well, no social disgraces. Some embarrassments but nothing too big," Clayton seemed proud, but this was I was not in such a good place.

I finally realized that this was not it. The party didn't just prove that I was queen and leave people to understand that and leave me alone. They didn't leave me alone when I was at my "full strength". Why would they leave me alone now when I was "weak"?

I would never be just left alone. I would have to keep up my popularity, and I wouldn't just escape from him...

We had to be together. I was Student Body President (it had once been James's job in middle school, but he quit because he hated planning dances), and that landed me in government classes on Tuesday (which he willingly signed up for). And there were other connections that I knew would get me stuck with him.

I couldn't imagine how awkward it would be. I couldn't imagine how horrible it would feel to be around him a lot. I just couldn't…

I felt sick, and I felt like my stomach was about to spill the delicious breakfast made by Esmeralda.

"I'm going to go get dressed," I got up, and I stared towards my room.

_**Claire,**_

It felt a little strange to be walking through KISS and seeing it as the ultra-private and ultra-amazing prep school that it was after seeing it with the grand party last night. All traces of Champaign, dancing, big ball gowns, and even bigger gossip was gone. Everything was pristine again and had no sign of the drunk students that had probably been falling and messing up the grounds as they clumsily made their way back to their dorms.

Everything was pristine. There were office assistants and teachers walking around in their uniforms, smiling hello or giving the bitch stare at anything but you.

Students occasionally milled around, and they were the only things that _weren't_ perfect. While some of them had made an effort to look just as perfect by wearing clean and crisp clothes, hair done well, and make-up done to cover their hangover, they were far from the same level. They were hung over, tired, and possibly still a little drunk.

Even Massie Block had looked less than amazing (still completely great, but she wasn't as drop dead amazing as she typically did).

I admit that I didn't look my best either, but my old jeans, comfortable blue tee shirt, and keds had nothing to do with a hangover and had _everything_ to do with my fight with Cam.

My mind usually had to wrap itself around the thought of whatever Cam's offense had been and why I shouldn't forgive them. But I had no trouble now. It was almost as if he had already been guilty in my mind but I hadn't been able to put my finger on exactly it was.

It wasn't really missing the party (sure, I was pissed about it, but a sweet gesture of a bag of candies and an even sweeter apology could fix that). It was that he was with Layne and lied to me about it, _both of them _keeping it a secret.

Why did he chose her over me that day? I asked him to go with me for tea and to just hang out after we had barely seen each other all week, and he said he was doing something for soccer. But he chose to be with Layne. He decided to go play in her band, to spend the day going from traffic in a van to playing for a crowd instead of relaxing with me.

Cam had always said he loved me, that he wanted to be with me more than anyone in the entire world, and that nothing could change that.

But it seemed that "nothing" had gone and ruined everything.

"Claire!"

I snapped out of my fog to see Nyssa.

Nyssa was wearing a beat up pair of jeans and a simple blue tee shirt. She had tried to look cute with a blazer and a cute necklace, but we all looked pretty hungover. Her hair was in a braid, and she made her that her blue streak was in view.

I walked faster towards her, and I hugged her.

_At least I got something good out of the KISS in the Dark Party…_

Then I noticed the Sharpie on her arm.

"What's up with that?"

She tugged more at her blazer.

"Party in the commons area afterwards. I was the first to fall asleep. Not my best move."

She shrugged.

"How did your night go after you left so early? Marnie in the room three doors down said you guys had an elite party to attend and that was why you left early."

Not even close.

We went home early to an awkward car ride, and we all parted ways as soon as we got through the door. Servants waiting for our arrival helped us out of our dresses, and they were about to leave my room when I decided to do what any girl with a broken heart and a recent fight with her boyfriend would do.

I decided to eat candy.

I sprinkled my stash of gummy bears into the ice cream I was brought, and I smothered it in sprinkles as soon as they put the sprinkles down in my room. Then, I put on a Gossip Girl marathon on Netflix, and not even Serena and Dan's adorable moments in the beginning of their relationship could make me smile. I didn't want to go downstairs and search for candy, so I looked to the congratulatory bottle of Champaign that Massie had left in my room. So I decided to take a cue from what every movie I had ever seen said to do in this situation. Either I could cry with a box of chocolate or get drunk, and I was out of chocolate.

Instead of Sharpie on my arm, I had sprinkles in my hair.

"Hardly. My party afterwards consisted on Netflix and ice cream."

The two of us began to walk towards the building where we were going to sign up for classes to beat the rush on Monday. Massie hadn't told me what to sign up for because she didn't know, and I was happy to have someone who did know as a friend.

"You took it that bad?" Nyssa looked at me pitifully.

I nodded.

"It wasn't missing the party," I admitted, "It was that he was with _her_."

"Layne?" Nyssa asked, "I thought you guys were friends."

It was then that I began my long history over the relationship between Layne and Cam, which I had once been happy about due to Massie's dislike of Cam but now hated. I told her how they became friends, the band they were in together, and how they had bonded, which I found nice at the time. I told her of how that bond had grown and grown over the years. I recounted all of the well-meaning (and sometimes _not_ well-meaning) people who had said I should watch out for Cam and Layne. But, until this summer, it hadn't bothered me.

It was when Cam was pulling away that I realized he was leaning towards her.

It had caught my eye when Cam was adamant about picking Layne up at the airport with me, and I had noticed that Cam stayed in the conversations with us during lunch afterwards. He even stayed in the boy-talks. With him growing farther away from me, it had made me uneasy how close they were, and I noticed that Layne was closer to him than me.

But this had gone over the edge.

And anyone could see it.

Nyssa listened to my entire story, and we even stopped by a bench to really talk about it.

"I feel so stupid," I confessed, "How many times has he been doing this and not telling me? I suddenly question everything. I wouldn't have _really_ cared if he was going to play with her instead of tea with me. I wouldn't have liked it, but it was that they lied to me about it. Why did they lie to me?"

"You could ask my brother."

I decided not to tell her that Payne was part of the problem.

When Cam kissed me in the dark, I thought it was Payne, and I… kissed back.

"It'll probably be over in a week," I sighed, "Cam'll give me a big box of candy, play me a song, say some really sweet words, and kiss me. And that'll be it. It always is. Sometimes, I feel like we're just a broken record on repeat. We make-up, but I don't think we actually _fix_ our problems. We just decide not to fight and heal it with junk food."

Nyssa put her hand on my back.

She wasn't sure what to say.

What do you say?

I decided to change the subject.

"By the way, was Nile at your after party?"

Nyssa let out a smile.

"Boys aren't allowed in the girl's dorms."

"But was he there?"

"Yes," she grinned.

I smiled.

"Tell me more about the amazing Nile."

Nyssa was easily persuaded to change the subject to something happier, and she began to explain her best friend/crush.

His parents were archeologists, both of family money and had ignored all the titles and went off to explore history. They both were British-born and met on an expedition to Egypt. They started dating there, and they got engaged by the Nile River. They married in London, where the family money was, and they went to Italy next. They had a son who they named for where they met, and they settled down for a little while in London. When he was four, they moved to Spain to study, and they picked up on archeology again as he got older. When he was twelve, he went to his father's alma mater of KISS, and they went back to Egypt. He went to see them every summer.

As she continued to explain Nile, I longed for that young innocence of a beginning relationship, and I began to wonder if I would soon know it.

He was pulling away so much.

Could this truly snap him back into it or would candy act as a treaty to pretend we were alright again?

_**Dylan,**_

The KISS handbook was extensive, and, as per the usual, was not all necessary and particularly interesting. But there was a section of it that every student on the grounds had become familiar with.

**KISS Dress Code,** was written in big, black bold letters in cursive. There was an introductory paragraph that I had read and had been read to. Everyone knew it, and most could recite it from memory. It went on about how we were the future and how we represented our school and needed to represent it well.

And then it began on the index of what would be found in this subject.

_Boy's Dress Code. Girl's Dress Code. Children. Uniform Requirements, _it just kept going on.

I had flipped through it six times last night, and I had double checked with Massie when I was picking out my outfit for my first day of school.

I was so nervous that I just couldn't help it. For dinner, there was a grand dinner in which Mr. Block had a friend over who had a thirteen year old daughter who was starting school tomorrow at KISS. I could barely touch anything other than my kiwi and cherry water even though it all looked so good.

But, at midnight, I found myself creeping down the stairs to steal food.

There I found Massie and Esmeralda. We both got a plate and ended up talking until the wee hours, when Esmeralda came back in the kitchen in a big pink nightgown complaining that we would never wake up in the morning and would never make it to school on time.

She scolded us as she walked us up the stairs, and I had heard, "When your father hears, Miss Massie," enough times for one lifetime.

As soon as I got to bed, it seemed that my midnight snack and talk with Massie had tired me, and I fell asleep as soon as I hit the pillow. I was rudely awakened by Massie at an _ungawdly_ hour with the blaring of some pop hit at the top level of a speaker system I didn't even know was there. She made sure that all the lights were on and the curtains opened, and she began to pull me out of bed. She left after making sure I was awake, and I found a cup of coffee, a muffin, and instructions as to the usual morning.

The first day of school was started at five thirty to six am. You woke up early, got ready, made sure you were perfect, and enjoyed a large breakfast. We would drive in to school in Massie's convertible early, and there was a reminder of the school dress code once more, though we had picked out my outfit yesterday.

On a typical day, it began from six to six thirty am, and there was a smaller breakfast that wasn't always eaten in favor of getting to school and having something at the tea shop there. You took care of yourself for the most part, and it was not decided on how we would handle the driving situation as I had learned to drive on the opposite side of the car and road.

I took the coffee, and I began to get dressed. I had decided to keep my sexy look, and I was wearing a tight beige sweater with a white button up collar coming out. I had on a charm necklace from Chanel, and my curls were wild, though I managed to use that as my advantage today. I was wearing the typical school-girl black pleated skirt, and I had brought out my adorable black ankle boots.

I applied thick red lipstick and smoky eye shadow before starting out of my door and towards the sweet smell of breakfast. My stomach growled, urging me to walk faster.

Claire and Massie were already downstairs. Massie was eating a helping of bacon and toast, and it was hard to remember the girl with the "No Carb" rule a few years back. I liked the new Massie. She was still the girl I knew and loved back in New York, but she had also changed. She was more comfortable in her own skin and much less controlling. And she just seemed… happier. Aside from the James thing of course.

But, right now, Claire did _not_ look happy. She was pouting as she picked at her breakfast.

She had gone for the sweet angle that she had at the party. Her hair was naturally straight, and it was held out of her eyes by a black and white sparkly headband. Her black KISS blazer had a white button-up shirt underneath, and she was also wearing the skirt. Then there were her favorite black keds. We would have given her the look, but she was already having a pretty bad day.

Massie, who had equally dressed the part as queen and as Student body president (and this was a very sought after position as many of our classmates would go on into politics), looked amazing. Her hair was in perfect but still fun curls. She had on a pair of skinny-leg khaki trousers, a white button-up shirt (like the rest of us), and an open black blazer. She had on a long black necklace with an M on it, a pearl necklace, and one with charms. Tucked in to her shirt, I could see a gold one that I had never noticed before.

I was thinking of bringing it up but forgot when I began breakfast.

Massie's father wished us a happy good luck on her first day, smiled to us all, and he set off for his Jaguar and the office.

We were not very far behind.

Massie had us put our designer back-packs in the trunk, and we kept the top up for the sake of our hair today.

I plugged in my phone, and it wasn't long until we had our favorite songs playing on the stereo at MAX.

"Hey, so, what are you and Clayton going to do?" I smiled, turning on my side to Massie as I turned down the radio.

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone thinks you're dating, are you going to keep it up?"

"Are you going to date him?" Claire joined in, laughing.

"People can think what they want to think," Massie shrugged, "I don't care what they think about that honestly."

_Lie_, I smirked. Massie liked that she had a romantic scandal, if anything to make James jealous.

I was about to tease her with that when all of our phone buzzed.

"And it has begun," Massie smiled to herself, adjusting her sunglasses.

We looked to her in confusion.

"Early morning post, happens every year. GG posts like crazy today. Just kind of a warning of what should happen and a reminder of what did happen. Check it out."

We took out our phones, and she was right. I opened the blog post.

* * *

**First Day of the KISS School Year**

**Welcome to the first day of KISS. With a new year comes new rules. And this new rule comes as a shocker, ladies and gentlemen.**

**New Year Rule- Ignore All the Rules**

**That's right, the rules are more out than white after labor day. If you want to make it at KISS now, you don't follow things like you used to. It isn't a latter where the right shoes and right new purse slowly let you climb up. No, this is the jungle. Take what you can get with risks that could very well mean your own death (your social death of course).**

**This summer, all the rules broke. The amazing KISS Court split as Massie's two betas left for a semester abroad. Old American friends filled in their place, and they stay at the Block Castle. And the perfect royal couple, Massie and James, split before the summer. And the perfect queen is rumored to be dating the bad prince, Clayton White.**

**The world is upside down, and I would get used to it if I were you.**

**This year, I don't have certain predictions. I don't know if Ashley Lina will get her braces off in time to make it without getting her braces stuck to someone else during a kiss. I don't know if Helen and Ron are in for another bad break-up and a beautiful make-up. I can't even tell you which football player will cheat on his girlfriend. You'll have to tell me that when it happens.**

**For now, I can review you on the last few months over the important parts.**

* * *

There was a button on the bottom of the blog to where you could see the review.

* * *

**REVIEW:**

**IN**

**Oxfords**

**Sweaters**

**American Accents**

**Broken hearts**

**Jungle**

**Out**

**Diamond Studded Summer Sandals**

**String Bikinis**

**Safe Ladder of Success**

**Canvas Beach Totes**

**Rules**

**The Summer:**

**-Massie and James split**

**-James disappears**

**-Massie runs away to spend the summer in Paris with her mother**

**-Massie's besties ditch her in crisis for a semester abroad**

**-Old American friends become the new royal court**

**-Dmitri returns to London**

**-Massie is rumored to be dating Clayton White**

* * *

I began to skim through both reviews for people I knew and/or cared about.

* * *

**The KISS in the Dark Party:**

**-Massie comes with Clayton White**

**-Massie's American friend, Claire, gets in a fight with her boyfriend at midnight after he missed the entire party to play in a gig with their mutual friend, Layne. Claire spent the entire night with his roommate, Payne, and the pair is on the rocks**

**-Dylan is thought to be the next Dmitri's Girl, but Posy, the **_**old **_**Dmitri's Girl, snags a kiss at midnight**

**-Clayton is seen with red lipstick on his face after midnight**

**-Massie is shocked, and no great scandal happens to Massie. But Massie and her three friends leave the party early, missing the victory waltz. That makes us all wonder if something did happen to the Queen of KISS, and whatever it was must have been big to make her miss the Victory Waltz for the first time.**

**-James is seen by all, and girls flocked. And he has finally returned from his mystery summer.**

**Orientation awaits, Kiddos. Get out your blazers and headbands, and prepare for KISS.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Massie,**

As I pulled my vintage convertible into the parking lot with all the other day students, everyone was fighting over the best parking places. And I had the very best.

No newbie could steal it to try to prove dominance. It was in the perfect location and close to the first building I needed to get to and the tea shop. There was an oak tree shading my car from the sun, and I was nowhere near any ball field where someone could overshoot and hit my car. It was also in the popular area.

There were three areas of parking. There was the faculty parking with the extra spaces for the lower-ranking students who didn't want to cause too much change in the status quo by stealing a parking spot from an outranking person or who had overslept and been late. It was out in the hot sun, no beauty, just pavement far off from all of the buildings. Then there were the middle parking places in the main parking lot. They had scenery to look at, though their car was not near it per say. They were close to the buildings but not really close. And then there was my area.

You didn't get it from popularity or rank. You got it from Student Council, teachers, internships at the school, and other such awarding groups. And mine was the most coveted in the entire school.

**Massie Block, Student Body President**, was written in black, bold cursive.

There was a feeling of satisfaction as I drove into my perfect parking place with my name written in bold black letters, and I turned off my radio and unbuckled my seat belt. Dylan and Claire were nervous, their fears written across their face like the words you find written on your face when you wake up after passing out at a party.

I smiled comfortingly to them, and I got out of the car, telling them to face their boogie monster. I wanted to comfort my friends and be there for them, but I had other things to do at the exact moment. I grabbed the designer functional backpacks that I had bought for the girls when I was in Paris with my mom, and I held the two with Claire and Dylan written in their colors (blue for Claire and red for Dylan)

We had a busy day, and I needed to use every moment of it.

Especially since I knew James's schedule. His vintage jag would be driving up in just a few minutes, music playing, a cup of coffee in the drink holder, and a buttery biscuit in his other hand, eating fast after he skipped breakfast for more sleep.

As I thought about it, I could see the sight in my head. James's hair would be in its adorable boyish mess, and it might even still be wet from a shower. His backpack would be slung in the backseat, looking droopy and almost depressed at the thought of being thrown into lockers, thrown in his room, and ransacked for items inside it. He would have picked up a biscuit on the way to school, smothered in butter to cure the need for something unhealthy as his mother began yet another one of her fad diets.

But this year, there wouldn't be a bag with an untouched biscuit waiting for me, and I wouldn't sit on the hood of my car waiting for him and waiting to hear about the new diet his mother announced every year when he began school.

"So, where do we go?" Dylan snapped me out of my fog, and I smiled.

"Orientation, follow me," I hurried out of the parking lot, but I took my time to make sure that the girls got full effect of KISS. Everything was so grand, so beautiful, and so old. It was enough to make even me scared my first day.

KISS was the kind of place you dream and had nightmares about. It was luxurious, exclusive, renown, and held an amazing social life. It was that place you dreamed about going. Where you would start dressing up in an adorable (and pretty sexy) uniform, make cool new friends with cool new accents, and find a super-hot British boy to fall in love with you. It was where you could reinvent yourself.

But it was also that prep school in all those movies (and Gossip Girl). We had clique wars. Girls were armed with their cell phones to spread the word of your mistakes like a wild fire. Teenagers with high heels are the warriors, their phone their sword, and their designer purses their shields. We were the 21st century version of a kingdom with different leaders with claims to the crown and only a bloody war who decided who got it.

And I was determined to be William the Conqueror. To come in from another country (check), take over and become queen/kind (check), have an amazing person I love to help me lead (once was checked), and to create a legacy that would last (pretty sure I checked this as well).

I led the girls into the building where orientation was held, and I dropped them off in their seats. As student body president, I had a school to face.

I straightened my blazer, and I was adjusting my necklace when I found the gold one. I brought it out, and I looked at the pendant once more.

_Fiji_.

I couldn't get over it, I just kept staring.

"Massie."

I dropped the necklace back down my shirt, and I was frozen, just standing there.

He moved to where I could see him in in the mirror behind me.

"Hey," he let out a weak wave, and my eyes met the beautiful blue eyes I had always adored.

I forced myself to turn around, and it killed me to sit there.

"I didn't see you on Friday, we didn't get to talk," James's eyes met mine. They looked so sad, so desperate. I couldn't look away, I couldn't speak. James had his power over me again. I wanted to go what I always did when he looked like this before. I wanted to pull him close and kiss him, asking if he wanted to skip out and go get some doughnuts.

But I couldn't.

So, I just forced myself to speak.

"Yeah, we didn't."

"I really wanted to talk to you," James seemed just as nervous as me.

"We're talking now."

James ruffled his hair, swallowing heavily.

"Listen, I-I-" James didn't get to finish.

"Massie? We're ready for you," Clara, a freshman, stepped towards me, holding a clipboard, and she froze whenever she saw that James was there.

Everyone knew about the break-up, and it was awkward for everyone. But Clara had been working with stuff like this since the eighth grade, so she had seen James and me together before right before a speech. Only we would usually have to be pried apart, and she would have to fix my lipstick.

I noticed that she had a tube of my usual speech lipstick.

_It was probably out of habit. Maybe she even started wearing it…_

"I've got to go, James," I found my anger once more, and I stormed off towards the stage, where the headmaster was finishing up her speech.

"And now, our Student Body President, Massie Block."

I straightened my blazer, and I smiled as I came out to the stage, giving the headmaster the customary hand shake before turning to the podium and facing a bunch of new and old faces. They were all staring at me, depending on me to lead them in more than just orientation.

I was supposed to lead them in _everything_ this year. I was supposed to set the new school year trends. I was supposed to throw the best parties. I was supposed to be the authority on everything, and I was supposed to approve the new freshman it-girls. I was supposed to rule KISS.

On this stage, the two women of power of this school stood.

The headmaster and me.

"Welcome to orientation. As Headmaster Williams said, I am Massie Block, Student Body President. I have been in some of your shoes as I started KISS the second semester of eighth grade. I was welcomed in with open arms by KISS, and the new students here will feel the same love, I am sure. This is a new year," I went by the speech that I was supposed to, "and it'll be better than any year before."

As I said that, I was smiling at my best friends, but then my eyes drifted down to James, who was just taking a seat.

"We are young, and our education is the base for our success. At KISS, you will get the best you can get, and you will never regret coming here. You should have gotten your student iPad, and that will give you your instructions for where to go for your specialized major orientation. If you did not get your iPad, please go to the office, and we'll fix that right up for you," I smiled, "Now, let's get this school year started."

_**Dylan,**_

After the speech that Massie gave, I took out the KISS iPad, and I saw that my account had been personalized to me and my schedule. As soon as the speech was over, it pinged telling me that my first class was in forty minutes. I ran my eyes over the map that showed me where I had to be, and I looked for Massie before I was going to set off. Claire and I waited patiently, but Claire ditched whenever she saw Cam walking to us. She set off for her orientation to "Photo Journalism".

Claire had thought about returning to acting, but, with Cam being distant, she started working with her camera a lot, and she rediscovered her passion for photography.

Drama had been left to me. Despite myself, I did love acting, and I did love the whole thing that went with it. I loved producing, I loved looking into screenwriting, I even loved directing. I had a passion for it, even if I didn't really like the acting gig I had now. But, then again, my entire job was to throw fits, be dramatic, and sell endorsements.

I wanted more than just being famous. I actually wanted to _do_ something.

"Hey, where's Claire?" Massie worked her way over to me finally.

"Oh, she went on to class. She saw Cam," I shrugged.

Massie nodded.

We all knew that I would be over in a few days. Cam would show up with candy and flowers, serenade her, and say some really sappy words. Then they would be alright again.

It was how it always went.

But Claire was angry and rightfully so. We just let her have her anger and be mad at him for as long as she wanted. We weren't going to push her in either direction. Her relationship with Cam was her own business, not ours.

"I was going to take you guys to the tea shop, but I guess you need to be getting to class."

I shrugged.

"After third period, we have break. Meet me at the tea shop, okay?" Massie hugged me, and she looked around, "Let me find you someone to take you to your next class."

"I have a map, I'll be fine."

"Nonsense, I'll get someone," Massie smiled, and she spotted someone, beckoning for them to come over.

I wasn't sure what I expected. Maybe a bleach-blond aspiring actress. A serious Shakespeare fan who found all other works to be silly. A guy who carried a camera all the time. An aspiring director who gave cues for everything in life maybe.

But what I saw had me shocked.

Dmitri.

Somehow, he looked even cuter in his school uniform. It wasn't perfect like everyone else. The shirt was a little wrinkled, and it wasn't perfectly tucked in like some of the other guys. His hair was a curly mess, and he was holding a big cup of coffee to wake him up.

He was perfect.

Dmitri wasn't my type. At least not my usual type. I went for blonde, green-eyed actors who dumped me whenever they couldn't handle my fame. Dmitri was into drama, I will give him that. But he was a Greek god, and he didn't seem to give a damn about my fame.

Yes, Dmitri was perfect.

And, yes, Dmitri was, according to GG, back with Posy after that kiss.

My stomach felt sick as I thought about the fact that I should have kissed him, not Posy.

"'Mitri," Massie hugged him, "It has been too long since I have seen you."

"You saw me at _KISS in the Dark_."

"Well, that was two days ago! Too long!" Massie laughed, and she turned back to me, "Hey, do you mind walking Dylan to class? I don't want her to get lost and miss her first class."

"We have classes together?" I wasn't sure if the question was supposed to be answered by me or Massie, so I let Massie do it.

"Yeah, same major and everything. You guys should have ninety percent of your classes together."

_Ninety percent?_

I couldn't tell if that made Dmitri just as nervous as I was.

"Well then, sure, I'll show Dylan around," Dmitri smiled at me, and I found that I was still a sucker for that smile.

_God, just like me! Fall for the taken guy who put you in the _friend zone_…_

"After third period, Dylan, remember," Massie winked, and I knew it wasn't because of getting tea after third period.

Dmitri and I didn't talk much as we walked out of the crowded orientation, but there wasn't silence to show it then. Now that we were walking on the peaceful sidewalk, there was.

"So," I began, and I wanted to think of a better subject. But there was one on my mind, "How did you and Posy meet?"

Dmitri looked over at me shocked.

Did he not know that we all knew they were back together?

"That was her name, right? The girl at KISS in the Dark. Posy?"

"Yeah, her name is Posy," Dmitri was getting nervous, "We met through rugby. She was a cheerleader. We had known each other for a while, but we didn't really get together until winter. I asked her to the winter formal."

Dmitri shrugged.

"We were together until the Spring Formal."

I had heard the story before, I knew it. But I wanted to hear what Dmitri had to say about it. If he would add in an "I feel in love with her" or something like that. But he did not. He said it like everyone else did. He took her to the dance. They dated until the Spring Formal.

Nothing special.

No big connection.

No story of a big fight that ended them.

No story of something big that really started them.

Just that they dated and then they didn't.

Dmitri took a sip of his coffee.

"So, are you happy that you're back together?"

Dmitri began to choke on his coffee, and he looked back at me.

"I'm sorry, that was forward. It is just that everyone is talking about it," I told him.

"Everyone?"

"_Everyone _knows," I repeated.

"Everyone," Dmitri repeated quietly, nodding his head.

Luckily for us, we could stop conversing because we had reached our class.

We were in a large classroom. On the back wall, there was a simple white stage with red curtains pulled away from the white backdrop. The floor was all original hardwood, and the walls were perfect white. On one wall, there were cubbies full of random props. And then there were the modern desks sitting in the middle of the classroom for the students.

There were only two students already here, and they smiled at Dmitri.

"You really are back, you devil," a girl smiled.

She was pretty. Her hair was dyed the same red as mine, though mine was natural. She had a nose piercing, and she was dressed in almost all black. I didn't know why I liked her, but I kinda did.

"Hey, Gemma," Dmitri walked up to her and hugged her, and she ruffled his hair.

Then she looked over to me.

"I'm Gemma," she held out a hand.

"I'm Dylan," I smiled, shaking it.

She looked over to Dmitri, but she didn't say anything. She just looked back to me with a bigger smile.

"Ignore, Dmitri," she rolled her eyes, "Hang out with me, Kiddo. I am so much cooler than he is."

Dmitri rolled his eyes, and she kept smiling.

_**Claire,**_

I just wanted to avoid Cam, and that was exactly what I did when I saw him coming towards me after orientation. I grabbed my KISS-issued iPad, and I started off to my first class of the school year. I didn't have any classes with Cam, so I didn't have to worry there.

We would talk some time

I would get over it. He would buy candy and say something so sweet that I basically had to accept his plead for forgiveness. We could reconcile. I would forgive Layne, and we would move on with our lives. It would just be something I would hold over his head.

But it was not going to happen right now.

I was hurrying through the grounds, trying to find my class when I spotted her.

Layne was just coming in from the dorm area, and she was munching on her newest snack craze, French fries with chocolate sauce. Her long ink-black hair was tied in a long braid down her back. She was wearing a pair of black shorts I did not know where even allowed through the dress code, if they were. She had on a pair of black tights, her white-button up shirt and a big leather bag.

I turned in a random direction, trying to get away from her, but she noticed me.

"Claire!"

I muttered under my breath as I tried to walk faster, and I hoped that my Keds could take me faster than her high-tops. But her Converses won against my Keds. And I felt a tug at my arm with the feeling of the cool metal of her many bangles that covered her arm.

I stopped, and I forced myself to look at her.

She didn't look like the girl I met so long ago. She was someone else. Layne had changed. She was not the girl I became friends with at OCD. This was Layne of KISS. Layne who was in a band, had ink black hair, piercings, and was best friends with my boyfriend.

This was the girl who had stolen my boyfriend from me the night of KISS in the Dark. She took him with her when she knew how much I wanted him here! And she didn't tell me. She kept it a secret. She lied on the freaking phone when I asked her where the hell she was.

I turned back to her, looking but not speaking.

"Claire, I've been trying to call you! We have to talk!" Layne was urgent, but I stared blankly.

"I don't want to talk to you."

"It isn't like we were having an affair!" she screamed.

"You knew I wanted him here! You knew he had to be here for the _KISS in the Dark _party! You knew how much it meant to me!" I cried, "And you asked him to go anyway. You could have taken him to _any gig_. But it had to be this one!"

"We needed him."

"You didn't _need_ him! You _wanted_ him! And you didn't admit to it! I called him, and I called you. And neither of you would tell me what was going on. You let me stand there in the middle of a freaking party wondering where the hell you and my boyfriend were!"

Layne stared as I kept yelling.

I rarely yelled.

"And the two have you have been closer to each other than me. I can move past that, I have put up with it this long. But, for you to have done that, how can you be my friend? If it was so innocent, why did you keep it a secret? Why did you continue to lie to me?!" I yelled until I thought I would lose my voice.

"We-we didn't keep it a secret," Layne tried again.

"Have you not seen that your lying got you here!?"

"I-It wasn't like that, Claire."

"Yes, it was, Layne. You kept it a secret for a damn reason whether you realize it or not," I shook my head, "And I don't want to _speak to you_."

"We're best friends, Claire," Layne was almost crying, and she kept looking at me for me to suddenly forgive her. As if remembering sleepovers would suddenly get me to be forgive her, she just kept waiting for me to say something.

"We _were_ best friends, Layne. We _were_ best friends before you decided that you wanted to play with my boyfriend when you knew I wanted to be with him that night so much. We _were_ best friends before you lied to me repeatedly about it!" I felt like I was going to cry. I crossed my arms, and I started off to my first class at KISS.

The fresh feeling of a new school year was gone and replaced by the feeling of dread and loss of a friendship.

The world didn't seem amazingly new and promising. It just showed me that the old had ended and that the new was preparing to make me crumble.

Layne seemed to understand that I didn't want to talk to her really, or maybe she was just too shocked. Either way, she let me walk away, and I didn't know where I was going. I just kept walking as my entire friendship with Layne passed through my mind.

Every fight, every laugh, every sleepover, and every scheme flew through my thoughts.

With Cam, I knew we would get over it this time, but I didn't know about Layne. I didn't know if we would have a sweet talk and move on. I didn't know if we would ever speak again. And I wasn't sure how I felt about whether I should forgive her or not.

I just knew that I was walking away right now…

_**Poor Claire is beginning to lose everything in England. I am sorry it took so long to update. Life just kinda got in the way.**_


	12. First Day of KISS

**I actually just realized that it was Poppy, not Posy. I kinda like Posy because of how she is posing to be an alpha, but what do you think? You guys can decide.**

**Massie,**

I remembered the moment that I realized James and I would not have many classes together due to our different majors. James wanted to be a businessman. He wanted to continue running his father's very important business that worked on engineering things to help people. His father saw it as a way to get money and renown. But, to James, it was more.

I remembered that day when I first got my schedule and came up to James to see his. I had been upset. So upset that not even my favorite skim latte with white mocha and extra foam from the tea shop, which was before I learned to love tea, could soothe me. I wanted to be with him. The space killed me.

Now, I was more thankful to it than I ever thought I could be.

I had sauntered in to class like I always did. My crown was mine, and no one was taking it from me. I rejoined my class friends, Erika and Winnie. Erika was a cheerleader, and we did not speak much outside of class because of how very busy she kept herself with cheerleading and gymnastics to go with it. Winnie was a nice girl with the right look, right clothes, the right connections, and right attitude. But she could never become more than a third rate alpha of a clique with three similar betas who just couldn't get their little group off of the ground. She had tried to cling to me for more power, but it hadn't work. Now, we just mainly talked during class and had no real reason to talk much outside of it.

As soon as I got through the door, Erika, who did see me as a great friend, almost attacked me with questions about Clayton and if we were an item. Winnie simply asked if he was a good kisser with a dirty smile before popping in another stick of her watermelon gum.

Up until six months ago, Winnie had been completely in love with Clayton. He was handsome, fun, and had the right connections to boost her popularity. But her attempts to land him never worked, and the farthest it had ever gone was when he took her to a party once that ended in disaster. Six months ago, she met George, a handsome, sweet, pretty popular, and loving rugby player. They had since been dating, and Winnie said that they were both very happy together.

I explained everything to them gently in the first period. We were talking about our summers by second period. And, by third period, we were talking about Erika's new could-be-boyfriend, Ezra. They met over the summer when she decided she wanted to take some ballroom dance classes and his mother had made him take it. They were friends now, but Erika kept talking about how they might be more than friends very soon and how much she wanted that. I could tell that Winnie was ready to start on about George when break came, and we all parted. Erika went to sign up for a few classes. Winnie went to George, and I went to the girls.

I went into the tea shop, and I was ordering my typical jasmine tea and strawberry muffin when I began to wonder where James was spending his morning break. He always came here, and he said he wanted to talk. I froze up, and I fumbled for my phone.

**TO: Dylan, Claire**

**Tea shop crowded. Let's meet in the dorms in the commons. I will bring tea.**

I pressed send hurriedly, and I ordered some extra drinks for the girls before I began to rush away from the tea shop and into the commons area. No one was here, which was typical. It was the first day. you went to other places outside of where you already spent so much time. Things would be different later, but this would be my safety area.

"What are you doing here?"

I looked back to Clayton, who was sipping at his coffee.

He had, just as he always did, broken the uniform rules. He was wearing a tee shirt for Doctor Who underneath his blazer, black jeans, and his sneakers. His messenger bag was on his shoulder, and it was open to where I could see his MacBook.

"I wanted to come here," I smiled, shrugging as I sat on the couch.

Clayton raised his eyebrows.

"Hiding from James," I admitted, slouching as I grabbed my tea.

"Now we're being honest," Clayton smiled as he plopped on the couch beside me, taking out his laptop, "I was coming to find you anyway. Have you seen Gossip Girl yet?"

"No, why?" I worried. What had happened? Was it something involving me? That could the only thing that would make Clayton need to come and find me.

He logged onto Gossip Girl, "I got this weird email. And it was giving me a hint, but I couldn't race the email. It just said, 'You'llThankMe' as the email address, and I could only track that someone sent it from KISS. I couldn't find anything else."

"A hint? What was the hint about?" I asked.

"It proved the same thing I saw on here a few minutes later," he moved the laptop towards me, and I gasped.

_**KISS King, Sir James Winthrop II, Mystery Vacation was Spent Partially in Fiji!**_ was shown in big letters on the screen.

My eyes shot back to Clayton, and he nodded.

I began to read the article as fast as I could. When he left London, he went to Fiji where his mother rented a house. They stayed there for a while, and, though we saw no signs of him having a little fling in Fiji, it still might have happened according to GG.

And then there were the pictures at the bottom. She showed him on a Fiji beach, wearing his favorite raybands and the soft grey tee shirt that I had stolen from him so many times. And then there was the one killing me. It was a picture with one side of him in Fiji and the other of what I was doing at that time.

I felt my strawberry muffin threatening to crawl up my throat.

"This real?" I asked, grabbing onto the gold chain with the charm.

"I found it for myself," he nodded, and he was looking at the chain, too.

I brought out the little charm, running my finger over it.

"Did he give this to me?" I whispered so softly that I wasn't even sure if Clayton could hear it.

If James had given me this, that meant that he had kissed me that night, too.

My head was swimming, and I wasn't even sure I could see the girls.

"You need to lie down, here's my key."

I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Oh God, I can be nice, okay! I am not always trying to screw everyone," Clayton held out his key, "No one will be there, you can lie down for a while and get some time to yourself. If you want to be surrounded by people, then you are going to need a big old gulp of this."

He handed me his flask.

I downed about half of it.

**Dylan,**

I think things were going pretty well that day.

Yes, I was beside Dmitri, the guy who had stolen my heart and broken it all within the course of a few hours at the KISS in the Dark party by returning to his bitchy ex, Poppy. But they did get back together another day, and I found out another day. So I couldn't exactly blame it on this first day of school.

That day, I met Gemma. By second period, she was sitting beside me. By third period, she was telling me embarrassing stories about Dmitri through our iPads. And, by the end of third period, I was already claimed as her new scene partner for the next project we had been assigned.

I was around Dmitri, which was a good and bad thing. While I knew he had a girlfriend who I already hated, I still liked being around him. I just had to control my urge to begin a plot I would have carried out in middle school to break apart the couple and steal Dmitri all for myself.

And I happened to like KISS.

I thought it was a good school, and it was certainly much better than the Westchester High School I started where everything was a war over who had the most expensive clothes and biggest trust fund. While there was certainly that element here, I knew that this was actually serious. These were actual actors who wanted to act, not to have pretty dresses and arm candy on the red carpet.

Then Massie told us all about Fiji at our break. She told us about the person who handed her the necklace in the dark and how she know knew that James had spent of his summer in hiding in Fiji. Massie looked like she was having a meltdown, but she was trying to stay strong for the rest of the day.

After break, I went back to class, and I continued to get closer to Gemma, though now Dmitri was involved. We all sat together in class, but now I was sitting between the two. And, in the period before lunch, Gemma was writing her cell phone number on my arm with her favorite red marker when she handed the marker to Dmitri and told him to do the same.

I wondered if she could tell how much I liked him or if she just thought that we all should be friends.

Either way, I let him take the marker and pull up my sleeve to print his name and number on my skin, and I tried not to feel the sparks of his touch. But I couldn't help it.

Then there was lunch where Gemma had plans to leave campus, and the three of us walked with her towards the dining hall. She broke off towards the parking lot, and I awkwardly walked with Dmitri for the rest of the way.

Well, that was until Poppy popped up.

Poppy had her entourage around her, and she was very clearly the alpha. But she was most certainly not the alpha of the school, and I wasn't even sure she would have been if Massie hadn't come around. In theory, she had all of the right stuff.

She was pretty and prettier than her two betas. She was stylish and on top of trends. She kept herself always groomed and ready to be seen, and she had a pretty good standing in the school, though she didn't have the likability thing going for her. And she had a well-connected boyfriend…

I tried not to feel sick as I noticed that she was indeed looking very pretty in particular today. Her long auburn hair was perfectly curled, and she had a khaki headband perched inside her hair. She had on a khaki skirt, a button-up white shirt with long necklaces. She had on a pair of black kitten heels, making her the tallest out of her clique, nicknamed The Plants.

Her red lips formed a frown at me, her eyes flying over me. She was deciding how I was, if I looked alright, and if I was a threat to her relationship. I couldn't tell her verdict, and she looked to Dmitri.

"Honey!" she wrapped her arms around him, planting a big kiss on his cheek. It left a red lipstick mark.

"I'll see you in class, Dmitri," I nodded towards him, not wanting to see him kiss her back and call her the pet name he called her. I hurried past Sage and Clementine, who were once again wearing the colors of their names with their accessories.

I walked towards the dining hall, and I went through the dining hall options, which were numerous. I ended up with teraki steak and a large soda before looking around for Massie and Claire.

You couldn't miss them.

Massie had the best seat in the entire room. It wasn't in the middle per say, but it also was not too close to the door or too close to the food. The antique table was the finest, the lights the best, and the view the prettiest.

I went over to them, claiming a seat as Clayton joined us and a few others, including a girl that Claire introduced to us as Nyssa.

I noticed that Dmitri and Poppy had their own table, though Massie watched him in such a way that it told me that he had once sat at the table with her. Payne Williamington went to the same table, and Claire looked away when Cam sat beside him. There were some others that Massie watched, and I could tell that they had once been her friends but that James had gotten them in their split.

And then I saw Massie's face fall. She knew she had to see him. He was coming through that door, and he was going to sit right there at that table.

"I am not feeling the food here today, does anyone want to go off campus with me?" she asked, reaching down for her black purse on the floor. But it wasn't fast enough.

The entire room seemed to freeze.

There he was.

Sir James Winthrop II.

He seemed to have become more handsome since I last saw him and maybe even from the pictures of his return. I hadn't seen up close, but I couldn't help but see him now. His hair was black and curly, his eyes a perfect crystal blue. His skin was tan and perfectly smooth. His face was one that plastic surgeons strived to give their clients, and his body was completely perfect in his school uniform.

James went through the room, not going to get food first.

His instincts came in, and he almost went to the seat beside Massie left empty by Claire having gone to the bathroom. He was almost there when he suddenly realized it, and his eyes moved to Massie, who was staring with sad eyes. He didn't say anything, he just looked down and went to the empty seat beside Payne.

Everyone was whispering. They were talking about what had just happened, the break-up, Massie and Clayton, and particularly the fact that we knew that James had been in Fiji at the beginning of the summer when he packed his bags and got on a mysterious flight on the Winthrop family jet.

Massie looked like she was going to throw up, and I could tell that her plate of sushi would be now left to waste. She couldn't eat.

I wondered if she would be alright, and I wasn't so sure she would be.

Finally, Massie took a sip of her strawberry tea and smiled a gentle fake smile.

"So, how was class?"

_**Claire,**_

During my first class, I met up with Nyssa. In first period, I spilled my guts about what happened with Layne. She waited to introduce me to people, and she just comforted me about my loss of a friendship. By second period, I was a little bit better, and she truly let me meet the infamous Nile. I met a few others, and I sat with Nile and Nyssa for the day.

After break, Nyssa had spent less time with Nile. She introduced me to a handsome photographer, Andy. He was a nice person, and I liked him. But it didn't stick. We talked for a little while, but we didn't talk long. It was clear that we would not be together.

After that, Nyssa asked me if I was ready to go back to Cam. I told her that I wasn't because I really wasn't. She asked me if I was ready to move on. I told her that I wasn't sure because I really wasn't.

Then, it became pretty clear that I wasn't ready to talk to anything more than what Layne had done to me, and we just talked about class and our new classmates together. Nyssa and I walked to lunch together, and she sat at the table with us.

Then there was James. He almost came up to his old seat by Massie at lunch, and we could tell that Massie wasn't taking it well. But she just faked a smile, and she even began to ask us how classes had been.

It was later in the day, and I was on my way to another orientation for new kids. The people who had been here before were free to do whatever they wanted, and Massie and Clayton were already in his computer room to check out James's time in Fiji. Dylan had gone on to class, but I had stopped to pick up gummies from the tea shop.

I wasn't late, but most everyone was early. So I was pretty much alone in the hallway, the only sound being my steps and chewing.

I heard another pair of steps joining the sound, but I didn't really think about it.

I didn't think about it until I felt someone putting their hand on my arm and stopping me gently.

I spun around, prepared to yell at Layne.

It was Cam.

"Hey."

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what I wanted to tell him that I hadn't already. I wanted to know why he kept going with Layne that night a secret even if they were completely innocent. I wanted to know why he went with her in the first place when he knew how much I wanted him there.

But I had already told him that. I had already asked for those answers.

And he hadn't given them.

"We didn't do anything. We just played, Claire. I promise," Cam tried.

"You did something. You both lied to me," I crossed my arms, keeping my cool instead of screaming like I did at Layne earlier today.

"It wasn't like that," Cam shook his head.

"Yes, it was," my face stayed the same. I was still angry. I was still closed off.

I didn't want sweet words and gummies. I wanted an actual apology. I wanted the truth, no matter what that was.

"I am her friend. She needed someone for a gig. I just wanted to help her out. Maybe have fun like we used to," Cam shrugged, his eyes still that of a puppy dog.

I was tired of being a pushover. I had made a stand today, and I was making another one.

"You went to a gig the night your girlfriend begged you to please go to a party with her. To show her that you still cared about her and that she wasn't being thrown aside for your new love for this school," I whispered harshly, "To just be there for her. You went with her _best friend_, and you both _lied _to her. You left her at a party until midnight with no clue as to where you were."

I stood there, somewhat shocked that it all came out. It was what I wanted to say to him, and I finally did. It wasn't just the Layne thing. It was how he had made me feel about the school. I felt like I was second fiddle to a school. He was taking me for granted, and I was scared and had been for a long time that we would not make it through this school year.

When we started dating, I wondered how it would end. Nothing had felt right, I always knew we would be back together in the end.

Now, here we were. I was taken for granted, and his love was shown more towards a school than his girlfriend. He ditched me the night I needed him to secretly go out with Layne for a gig and keep it a secret from me. And I had already lost Layne.

Would this be the thing that made me lose Cam?

Cam watched me, his eyes wide.

"Claire," he tried, but he didn't have anything to try with anymore, "I-I didn't know…. I didn't know you felt like that…"

"I still do."

We were now silent.

We might have just stood there for hours and hours until words came to us if it hadn't been for the sound of the orientation that we needed to be at starting.

I didn't say goodbye, I just started walking into the orientation.

_**I am so sorry that this took me so long, but it is finally here and out now.**_


End file.
